To Dance With Death
by EriLenx07
Summary: Death is a cruel, cruel mistress. It stole her from one life, then dropped her straight into another. What's a girl to do but dance to death's tune? OC SI (Warning: semi-graphic violence in later chapters.)
1. Chapter 1

(I)

Morishiba Atsuko grew up with death.

As a child, she was lulled to sleep by the wails of mourners and the silence of vigils.

As an adolescent, she learned to smile and reassure the criers that their loved ones were in better, happier places. That they would be given the best send off they could possibly have- that their love would last far longer than their lives.

She had a pretty smile, they said.

Atsuko didn't think so.

The family funeral home taught her many things. The most important of which being that she can _never_ escape death.

Not even in her second life.

She hadn't always known that she had died once before. At first it was dreams, a child's dreams of a strange, mundane life, of going to school and of sleepless nights, of watching anime and reading manga and crying over friends and foes alike.

It had been a weak life, but a simple one. Atsuko hated those dreams.

It took a long time- for it to click, you see. She hadn't known that this girl, this sad girl, had once been her. Until one day she did and things weren't the same anymore.

Atsuko didn't know how she had died the first time.

She didn't want to know.

After all, she already knew death far more intimately than any other her age could claim.

Why let her mind dance to death's tune any more?

* * *

Fifteen year old Atsuko wonders why her best friend is so damn _insane_ and why they're best friends in the first place.

"Do you _ever_ shut up?" she complained, brushing black strands out of her eyes, a book settled in her lap as she sat on the floor of Nami-chuu's nicer, smaller gym.

"Never!" Sasagawa Ryohei answered in his usual, ridiculously loud voice. "I have to train for the tournament to the _extreme_!"

"Everyone else already went home," Atsuko whined shamelessly. "Why can't we go home? I want to go home."

"Everyone else was-" _and there goes that punching bag "-_ tired to the extreme, but I'm not so-"

"Oh my god Ryohei, you're _never_ tired! In all the years I've known you you've always been this, this _thing_! This stupid, hyperactive, thing that drags me around _everywhere_ and keeps me from sleeping and-"

"-and makes sure you actually have a life?" Ryohei finished with a grin, looking over the remains of the poor, poor punching bag that did absolutely nothing wrong in its life. It didn't deserve this.

And neither did the boxing club's funds, to be frank. As its unwilling manager (that annoying ball of muscles and sunshine's puppy dog eyes were a force to be reckoned with), Atsuko was often forced to balance the budget and they most certainly could not afford their captain's mere existence.

Atsuko huffed in annoyance.

"Hey Atsu, I think we need another-"

"Pay for it yourself, dick," Atsuko retorted, glaring at Ryohei. Excuse him. "And go die in a hole while you're at it."

"You don't mean that," he laughed loudly at her. "You'd bring me back just to avoid the funeral paperwork!"

"You know me too well," Atsuko lamented. "I should just kill you and ship the body off somewhere so that the paperwork ends up being someone else's problem."

Ryohei sat down next to her and Atsuko didn't hesitate to lean on him, sweaty or not. They were both going to be taking showers in a bit anyhow. "But then you wouldn't have an extreme pillow for when you're reading."

Atsuko frowned thoughtfully. "That's true, your muscles do make for a surprisingly good headrest…"

"You'd die from vitamin D deficiency in about a week if you did it too," Ryohei pointed out. "You're such a shut-in, Atsu. It's extremely unhealthy!"

Atsuko nodded cheerfully. "It would be a good death," she sighed blissfully. "A death brought on by the beauty of books and Korean dramas stealing me away from the disgustingly bright light. And then we'd be together in death too, best friends forever and all that, Ryo."

"You're daydreaming about death again," Ryohei said disapprovingly. "Do we need to have another _talk_?"

" _No_ ," Atsuko shuddered. She did not need another lecture about how _special life is to the extreme._

Atsuko didn't actually desire death- not really. She didn't know how she died the first time around and she didn't really want to die a second time either. But there was just something about that concept, about that lie of eternal peace and darkness that was so enchanting…

However, her fear of Ryohei's hour long lectures by far outweighed her admiration of death, thank you very much.

When Atsuko had been younger, she was always alone. She just couldn't connect to other children on any real level, they were too young, too immature.

Then Ryohei came along in the second grade and declared that she needed a friend to the extreme and just wouldn't leave her alone. _Ever_.

He still hasn't left her alone, not after what, eight years? Which is good, since she doesn't really want him to leave her alone anymore. While he hadn't been her first choice for an anime bestie, he was certainly the greatest she could have asked for. Loud brashness, boxing obsession and dispassion for all things school and all.

Though, he _is_ surprisingly good at science. The dude really did have a mind for biology and could easily be one of the top students in the class, if he actually cared enough to bother with middle school academics. While he was slow to get concepts, the moment he got them he really _got_ them. But he didn't care, so it was a moot point.

Oh yeah, speaking of which... Atsuko lives in an anime.

 _An anime_.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn, of all anime. As in, _the_ mafia anime. With crazy fire powers and guns and illusions and all that good stuff.

Except, it isn't actually good stuff. It's scary stuff. Who the hell would actually want to live in this anime? That's just _asking_ to die for a second time.

Or a sixth, if you wanted to be like Mukuro. Poor Mukuro, she really could relate to him on the whole reincarnation thing. It sucked; she was going to hug him at earliest convenience. He needs a hug. If she didn't think he would kill her for trying, that is.

"Good!" Ryohei beamed. "So, extremely extreme manager of ours, about that punching bag…"

" _Why are you like this?!_ "

* * *

"Hey Ryo," Atsuko began, chewing on a pencil as she looked over the schedules that her parents had given her to sort for the family business. "Can you do my chem homework for me? You know how to forge my handwriting."

They had been very, _very_ bored last summer when a devilish heat wave that even stopped Ryohei in his tracks (after about three heat strokes, the stubborn asshat) struck Namimori and stranded them inside, much to Atsuko's immense pleasure and Ryohei's annoyance. But since he refused to leave her alone to her books for the entirety of the heat wave, she was forced to actually _do things_ , one of which somehow ended up being teaching the other to forge her handwriting for laziness purposes.

(They also learnt origami, the art of ice cream making and that Atsuko is much better than Ryohei at video games, ha.)

Ryohei gave her a look. "That isn't very extreme. Just because I can doesn't mean I _should_."

"Screw morals," Atsuko dismissed. "Just because you're the very definition of 'honorable' doesn't mean I have to be."

"It wouldn't be honorable of me if I helped you be dishonorable," he pointed out.

"You'd be doing it out of love for me," Atsuko retorted. "Everything is honorable when it's done out of love."

Ryohei considered that. "You can still do it yourself," he decided. "Organic isn't that hard. It's easier than algebra."

"That's just because you're you." She rolled her eyes. "I have to fix up this week's schedule for the funeral home and then I need to write up a request to the king of the school for expanding the boxing club's budget because _someone_ can't control his punches."

"Hibari isn't _that_ scary," he said, a grin lighting up his face. "He's an extremely worthy opponent."

"Adrenaline junkie," Atsuko accused. "You're you and I'm me and therefore I am terrified of Hibari Kyoya."

"That made no sense."

"Yes it did, shut up."

As the boxing club's manager, Atsuko also had to act as the liaison between the Disciplinary Committee and the club. Which also meant that she had to speak with Hibari Kyoya on multiple occasions.

She swears that both of her lives flash before her eyes each time he opens his mouth.

Yes, he _is_ that intimidating. The fanfiction exaggerated nothing aside from his ability to communicate.

Contrary to fandom beliefs, Hibari did not actually insert animal references into every conversation and nor was his committee just a bunch of random thugs. He was eloquent and charismatic when he spoke, capturing the attention of any listener with simple, blunt words. He had this air about him that told bystanders that they would probably die if they didn't listen- yes, he was _that_ scary.

His committee was also more than the anime made them out to be- they were organized and efficient, doing much more than the school administrations to run both Namimori Middle _and_ Namimori High, which was located about a block away from the middle school. He just liked the office in the middle school better.

Living in Namimori also cleared up many questions that Atsuko had had about its residents. For example, canonically Hibari was the age of a high school freshman, which didn't add up with his constant presence at the middle school.

He clearly wasn't stupid, so he couldn't have been left back. So what was it then?

In truth, the bastard is some kind of a lazy (if a bit violent) genius, if rumors were to be believed. He went to his classes as he pleased, wowed the teachers with his ability to know everything they taught without actually attending most lectures, aced tests and left whenever he felt like it.

He was rich, so there's always the chance that he had private tutors, but no one could actually confirm anything so most people just went with the first theory.

It's not like anyone actually had the guts to ask, of course.

Ryohei patted her head consolingly. "I guess I can do your homework, since you are going to be facing your fears tomorrow."

Going to the committee room was just asking for an unintentional meeting with the demon prefect, after all.

"I'd say thank you but this is all your fault to be perfectly honest," Atsuko deadpanned. "I hate your guts."

"I think the fear's getting to you," her best friend told her, amusement coloring his rough voice. "You're starting to lie to yourself."

"I'm always lying to myself," she confided. "Like when I tell myself that we'll actually get home at a normal hour everyday- it's never going to happen because you're such a nut, but I keep hoping…"

"I don't think that's very healthy," he teased back. Ryohei, also contrary to fandom beliefs, did not in fact use his favorite phrase in every sentence and actually was capable of being a normal human being. Sometimes. "Doesn't lying to yourself too often do bad things to your head?"

"Excuse you, it's perfectly healthy," Atsuko informed him. "But you know what isn't healthy? Wanting to fight Hibari. That is so not healthy."

"It's extremely healthy," Ryohei countered. "It means I like to challenge myself and become better by fighting great opponents!"

"No, it just means you like death more than I do," she told him bluntly. "I highly doubt Kyoko would be okay with you fighting Hibari."

Ryohei paled just a bit at that thought. "Probably not. But I still kinda wanna do it?"

Most people are under this strange misconception that Sasagawa Kyoko is some sweet, defenseless, innocent little creature. Two of those words are true. One is not.

Kyoko is the very opposite of defenseless.

After the whole incident with a bunch of high schoolers a few years back that lead to Ryohei's scar, Kyoko decided she didn't want to be a damsel in distress and learned kickboxing. That woman could probably snap Atsuko in half like a toothpick and regularly sparred with Ryohei.

And won.

(About ten percent of the time, but that still said _something_.)

However, it should also be noted that Kyoko was actually a _very_ anxious person. Sure, most people would never be able to guess that, but truthfully she was very prone to worrying over every little thing when it came to her loved ones to the point of unhealthiness- especially since she knew how trouble-prone her brother was.

Atsuko's guess about Kyoko's role in the anime was that it stemmed from Ryohei and possibly Tsuna's attempts at avoiding aggravating her anxiety with their dangerous activities, but Kyoko wasn't stupid.

The poor girl had probably been dying on the inside the whole time- being forced to remain uninformed while being entirely aware that _something_ was going on, then pretending to be okay to keep others from worrying about her.

Stupid, self-sacrificing Kyoko. Both Sasagawas were far too good for this world.

"That just means you're still kinda an idiot," Atsuko informed him, standing up. "I'm going to go ahead and grab some drinks, want anything?"

"Yeah, some orange juice- the extremely pulpy kind."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. By the way, if you really are so insistent on fighting Hibari," she said, a smirk playing on her lips, "- then you should just go ahead and kill him for me. I bet he'd look much more approachable if he was dead."

" _Atsu!_ "

Atsuko couldn't stop laughing all the way to the kitchen.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Opinions would be very much appreciated.**

 **Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2

(ii)

Atsuko's first meeting with Hibari Kyoya consisted mainly of her squeaking out words and him probably internally laughing his ass off at her squeaking and calling her an herbivore.

Meeting number two wasn't so bad, Ryohei was there too. Except he actually was laughing his ass off at her squeakiness. Excuse him.

Gradually, Atsuko gained the confidence needed to speak with Hibari about the boxing club. She'd probably die on the spot if she had to actually have a _conversation_ with him, though.

That would be a really dumb way to die. Atsuko would prefer to die like a badass, not an 'herbivore', thank you very much.

"Hibari-senpai," Atsuko greeted as she entered his office. This was much more bearable without that stutter that she had had two years prior.

All budget requests had to be submitted directly to his royal highness, King of Namimori, as Atsuko liked to refer to him as in her mind and to Kyoko, Ryohei and the rest of the club. True though it may be, she had no wish to be bitten to death for mocking Hibari.

That was an even dumber way to die.

Hibari looked up from whatever paperwork he was busy with. He was very pretty, she could admit. The Hibari Fanclub was not unjustified in their secret, cult-like idolization of the guy. Suicidal, yes, Hibari would _so_ not be happy with the creepy little detail of their existence, but certainly not unjustified.

"Morishiba. Why are you here?"

He had only just approved of a budget request a few months prior- for new uniforms and such. Atsuko highly doubted he would be very happy to approve of this request either.

Running the boxing club was actually pretty expensive. They had to pay for buses to take them to their many tournaments- which they usually won, mind you- and the best equipment since Ryohei wouldn't really settle for anything less and could easily defend his requests with the club's huge win streak. School prestige, and all that.

The club was made up of a bunch of muscular dorks, but they were hardworking dorks and deserved nothing less than the best. That was the only reason why she risked her neck and dignity on a regular basis- they were her dorks and it was only fair that she cared for them like they did for her.

After all, Atsuko was _terrible_ at making friends. She only talked to most people if she needed something or for a project, but aside from that? She just had Ryohei, Kyoko, and the rest of the club as her only friends.

"The boxing club needs a small budget expansion, senpai," Atsuko responded.

"Why." It was less a question and more a command. Atsuko could already feel the cold sweat trickling down her neck.

"There was a bit of an accident with one of the punching bags," she explained, attempting to maintain eye contact and barely succeeding. "We need the extra money to replace it with something more durable and buy a few extras to avoid having this happen again."

"The boxing club already receives more funding than over half of the other clubs," Hibari pointed out, silvery eyes narrowed. "You have been spoiled enough as it is."

"Spoiled?" Atsuko couldn't restrain herself from snorting. She could see the light already… "The members of the club work harder than anyone else I've ever met, senpai, and their results speak for themselves. A quarter of the middle school's trophies were won by us in the past two years!"

The only club that succeeded more than them was the baseball team, but they had Yamamoto Takeshi so that was cheating.

Atsuko has never spoken to Yamamoto, nor did she particularly want to. While most other people likely would have befriended him in order to stop his suicide attempt or whatever, Atsuko had no such desires. She was already involved with _three_ canon characters to some degree and she had no wish to be involved in all the crazy that would be going on.

While it was completely inevitable for her to end up in the plot somehow, what with Ryohei's involvement and the fact that she would gladly follow her greatest friend to the ends of the earth, but she was _so_ not digging herself in any deeper.

If the dude wanted to die so badly then he could go die for all she cares, cruel though it may be to say. So long as he didn't bring Kyoko nor Ryohei down with him, then he can do what he wants.

"Considering your lack of social abilities, I highly doubt that the former statement means anything, herbivore," Hibari dismissed, though he did seem a bit surprised at her outburst. Ha. "Is your club really so weak as to let its performance go down just because of an equipment failure?"

"Of course not," Atsuko responded. "Our performance won't suffer at all, but the missing punching bag will cause time deficits during training because more people will have to take turns using the remaining ones."

"Then schedule more practices to make up for them."

"Most of us are in our last year of middle school, senpai," Atsuko protested. "If we schedule more practices then that would be taking time away from academics and result in lower grades."

"Morning practices take away from academics?" Hibari questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Well no, but they took away from Atsuko's sleep, which was _very_ precious since she never really knew when she'd find Ryohei bursting into her room at sunrise to get her on her bike to accompany him on his morning jogs.

"They take away from sleeping time," Atsuko said instead. "Which can be very unhealthy."

If she was going to lose sleep then it would be because she had been up all night reading, and not because Hibari was being stubborn.

"The baseball team has no issues with it."

 _But they're a bunch of superhuman freaks!_ Atsuko wanted to scream. Hibari clearly knew what she was thinking, if the look he gave her meant anything.

"Um, but they're… them?" Atsuko finished lamely. She really couldn't argue this one, especially since it's all Ryohei's fault for being too hard on the damn bag.

Hibari almost looked amused at the admission, but she was too stupid and herbivorous to really elicit any kind of emotion from him so Atsuko chalked it up to fear-induced hallucinations.

"If you win the tournament in one week then I will consider it."

That wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no either.

Atsuko straightened up. "Thank you for your consideration, senpai. We won't disappoint you."

"Leave, herbivore," he commanded, going back to his paperwork.

Atsuko dipped her head and then ran out of the room as though the shinigami himself was on her tail.

* * *

"I feel like I'm being bribed here," Atsuko commented, nibbling on her chocolate. Her favorite idiot had presented her with the delicious bar as soon as she exited the committee office, suspiciously enough.

Ryohei shrugged innocently. "Why would I have to bribe you, Atsu?"

"Because you still need me to have a second chat with Hibari next week because of your stupidity. Ugh, the guys will _never_ let me hear the end of this…"

"You're just extremely easy to tease," Ryohei informed her comfortingly. "And your reactions are extremely funny too."

"That doesn't make me feel any better!" Atsuko grumbled, taking an aggressive bite out of her chocolate. "Why can't they find something to tease you about?"

"Um," Ryohei responded eloquently, pulling a thoughtful frown. "They tease me about how hard I train?"

"But that's playful commentary, not teasing!"

"That I'm all brawn and no brains?"

"That's just hypocrisy and a statement of the obvious, you're all a bunch of muscle-heads."

"Give up Ryo," Atsuko sighed dramatically. "Until we can find a girl to ship you with, you shall never share the pain I go through every time someone decides to bring up his majesty."

Don't get her wrong here- Atsuko had absolutely _no_ feelings for Hibari that did not involve tolerating his intimidating-ness and wishing that she could cower behind Mister Sunshine over there every time she was in his presence.

However, after she first came back to the club after a meeting with Hibari she was a total stuttering mess - she didn't know how to deal with him back then, after all. And the fanfictions she could remember had her half convinced that one slip of the tongue and she'd be at the mercy of his shiny, metal tonfas.

She didn't want to die a la tonfa, that would be kinda sad.

This stuttery-ness resulted in the club's running joke- that Atsuko was secretly madly in love with Hibari and that she would end up being Namimori's future queen.

Atsuko hated her friends. Every last one of them. Even _Kyoko_ joined in all the time!

Speaking of…

"Onii-chan! Atsu-nee!"

"Finished up your student council duties already, Kyo?" Atsuko questioned, greeting the girl with a lazy wave.

Ryohei pulled his sister into a tight hug, flashing yet another one of his too-bright grins. Atsuko was going to go blind from those things someday. "We extremely missed you, Kyoko!"

Kyoko giggled, returning the hug with full force and reaching over to pull Atsuko in as well. Atsuko sighed exaggeratedly, knowing resistence was futile. "It's only been a few hours, Onii-chan."

"That's still too long!"

Atsuko snickered. "Sisa-con."

Ryohei ignored her. "Atsu just came back from the throne room," he said and Atsuko instantly knew where this conversation was going. She wanted to die, again.

Kyoko put a hand over her mouth in mock surprise, a mischievous look taking over her supposedly-angelic face. "Oh, really? That's great, Atsu-nee! One step closer to completing the courtship!"

" _Ryo, Kyo,_ stop it," Atsuko groaned. "Evil, evil, little creatures of the light…"

Kyoko frowned. "Onii-chan, I think she's using that tone with the wrong Kyo."

Ryohei nodded seriously. "She must still be confused after that meeting. Looks like we have to fix her!"

Atsuko buried her head in Ryohei's side. "I feel like sadism is a feature of the light and not one of the darkness. Pop culture lies."

Kyoko tilted her head slightly in what was supposed to be innocent confusion, not that Atsuko could see it of course, her face comfortably hidden from the brilliant light exuded by the Sasagawas. "But how does treating you to sushi make us sadistic?"

"Sushi is the best way to fix you after being exposed to Hibari, after all," Ryohei agreed.

Atsuko lifted up her head suspiciously. "I don't trust either of you. At all. Whatsoever."

Kyoko snickered. "You're so mean, Atsu-nee. Besides, Hibari-senpai isn't that bad, I think? I kinda wanna fight him, to be honest."

Ryohei and Atsuko stared at her incredulously. "Kyoko," Ryohei began slowly. "If I tried to fight him you'd have a heart attack, but you want to do it yourself?"

Kyoko nodded enthusiastically. "If you tried to do it, you'd die, Onii-chan. Your style is too rigid so it would be easier for someone with a more flowy style like his to take you down. My fighting style can match his better, so if I fought him I'd probably be just fine!"

"You're both insane," Atsuko decided. "So, so insane. Why am I stuck with you people?"

"Because you love us to the extreme," Ryohei replied without missing a beat. "So if I learned a less rigid fighting style, you'd be okay with me fighting Hibari?"

Kyoko nodded. "As long as you don't push yourself too hard!"

"I question you both, so much," Atsuko muttered. The anime missed so much with these two that Atsuko had been rather unprepared to actually be dealing with them on a regular basis. She had expected a nitwit and a damsel in distress, not _this_.

Or had fanfiction created a bias? Hm.

"Then I'll just have to work hard to the extreme and-"

"Oh _no_ ," Atsuko hissed. "You are not doing that because that means more time in the gym and less time at home with my laptop and sleep. _No._ "

"But, Atsu-"

"No."

"Atsu-"

" _No_."

While he could probably just go train on his own, Ryohei and Atsuko did pretty much everything together. If he was training then she would sit on the side with a book, waiting to patch up any injuries he got. If she was reading on the couch then he would be sitting right next to her so that she could lean on his shoulder as he finished up some school work or looked up new boxing techniques.

Sure, they didn't spend every single second of the day together, that would be kinda weird, but there were some things that they just didn't do without each other. It would feel wrong- habits built up like that over so many years didn't just disappear. Training was one of those things.

Besides, if not for Atsuko then who else would make sure that he didn't come home with bloody knuckles? He could get an infection or something! And that would be bad. Like, really bad. Because he has such a high pain tolerance, Ryohei often forgot that he had any serious cuts from punching things too hard without gloves, ("for stamina!"). It was a legitimate concern!

"I mean," Atsuko began, "- I guess if you really wanted to I wouldn't mind that much, but wouldn't it be a bit too much? We already get home at around seven all the time."

She really was weak against those eyes, okay? Okay.

Kyoko had that _smile_ on her face in the background, like she knew exactly why Atsuko was relenting and found it to be very endearing.

Atsuko was tired of people reading her today.

Ryohei brightened up considerably. "Once a week it is! Teach me your extreme ways, Kyoko!"

The younger girl grinned back. "Gladly, Onii-chan! You should join in too, Atsu-nee!"

"Never," Atsuko denied vehemently. "Let me be weak and scrawny in peace, damnit."

"That's boring though," Kyoko complained. " _Please_ , it'll be fun!"

"You know, sometimes I really want to punch you in the gut, Kyo," Atsu said. "It should be illegal to be this cute. But then I remember that I'd probably break my hand trying, so I don't. But the answer is still no."

"Give it up, Kyoko," Ryohei sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "I've been trying to convince her for years, but she just wants to be all skin and bones forever."

"And just bones, eventually," Atsuko added cheerfully.

" _Atsu_!"

Kyoko laughed at them both. "Come on, I'm hungry and sushi sounds very nice right now."

And so they went, laughing and grinning and torturing poor Atsuko. Atsuko wondered what she did in her first life to deserve such a good second life, but then she decided it was best not to wonder so that she doesn't jinx herself.

She jinxed herself anyways.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for the wonderful responses! Seriously, you people and my readers from Clouds in the Sky make me blush. A lot. Why do you do this to me.**

 **Anyhow, Tsuna's should be making an appearance next chapter. I have** _ **plans**_ **for this one, you see.**

 **Also, please note that Atsuko/Hibari is not a thing, at least not for now. I haven't actually decided on a pairing for this yet aside from Hana/Ryohei, so feel free to send in suggestions. I'll probably do a poll later on.**

 **Ciao!**


	3. Chapter 3

(iii)

Ironic, isn't it, that a person that has been spat out by death into life once more would be born into a family that did nothing but care for the dead?

But, if Atsuko had to be completely honest, it was as if death had never truly let go of her in the first place.

It was there, looming, a finger upon her shoulder that she couldn't quite shake off. It crept into her thoughts when she was alone- when Ryohei wasn't there to chase away the darkness.

She often wondered why, why she was given this second chance. Why her? Why not someone else? Why not someone more deserving?

It was morbid, certainly, to wonder such things when she should probably just be thankful.

There were probably _so_ many things that she should be doing with this new life and the knowledge she had of it.

She could be changing the plot- saving Tsuna from bullies or going to Italy and searching out the Italian characters and making their lives better. Kami knows that's what who knows how many people would have done had they been in her place.

But truthfully?

It was all so _unrealistic_.

She didn't have a perfect memory of the plotline- she had only watched the anime and read the manga three years before her death. The rest of that life had been spent reading fanfiction, which she had a much better memory of. It's been _fifteen years_ , who in hell's name could possibly remember every last bit of a story that hadn't even been all that important the time?

Atsuko had the bare basics, but that was it. And even those were beginning to fade.

She didn't know what she was doing in this world. She didn't want to interfere or anything, honest.

Morishiba Atsuko wasn't anything remarkable. She was too thin, too pale, with plain black hair and large bags under her eyes. She was weak and frail- unskilled in combat or any sport at all. In fact, she would be the first to say that she was more like a walking corpse- a zombie of some kind, than a human being.

Perhaps that was why she found herself relating to the funeral home's corpses so much, why she found herself visiting them so often.

It had started as morbid curiosity.

She knew that she had left family behind, _friends_ (why that word in that context made her shudder, she didn't know) and she wanted to know what exactly she had left them with.

Would her body look like it was sleeping, like in the movies?

Or would she be a decayed husk, oozing with liquids and purpled skin?

That was a sad thought- if people were going to cry over something, then it should at least be presentable-looking, not that she had ever really been presentable-looking.

She recalls herself as having been a bit overweight, with heavily tanned skin and messy curly hair- the antithesis of the person she is now. She recalls looking into the mirror with tears in her eyes, staring at each picture as though she were looking at a stranger.

She recalls being sad and insecure and staring at her friends in envy, she recalls wondering if there was ever truly a pain worse than that of feeling isolated- of feeling alone in the world simply because she was not as good as the rest.

Perhaps that is why she is so devoted to Ryohei- because he has never let her be alone. Perhaps it is because he was the first to ever reach out to her and give her a place in this world, at his side, that she would do anything in the world to defend that position, to defend him.

That's why she cannot avoid the events of Katekyo Hitman Reborn- where Ryohei and Kyoko went, so did she. She could never let them face anything alone, especially not the mafia.

Atsuko sighed, shaking her head. _Never_ , she thought. _I'll never leave them alone to this._

She looked over at the morgue's newest occupant.

It wasn't uncommon for her to be here, at night, creepy though it may be. Atsuko wasn't afraid of ghosts and besides, it was comforting. Being here, that is.

Atsuko felt that the dead understood her best- or was it the other way around? She wasn't quite sure.

They had a lot of common ground- she and them.

Losing their lives- succumbing to the darkness. Leaving people behind, mourners and criers.

Or was she even mourned? Did anyone cry for her? She didn't know.

This girl though, Namie Subari, had people who cried for her.

Namie-san was a girl in Atsuko's class. She was small and quiet with big glasses and brilliant green eyes. She was sweet and gentle and had a few, close friends. The top student, Atsuko had once worked on a project with her. If Atsuko had been very interested in making friends with anyone that wasn't Ryohei or one of her other dorky muscle-heads, then she may have befriended her.

Perhaps, if she had cared, then she might have said something about the dark, prominent bruises she had once seen under the girl's skirt on accident, while bending over to grab a pencil.

But she hadn't. And no one else had noticed, it seems.

Namie Subari committed suicide two days ago- her body was still fresh, rigor mortis only just setting in.

A thorough, post-mortem investigation revealed that she had been brutally abused by her father, her mother unknowing of the transgressions.

Poor girl. She hadn't deserved this.

"You probably deserve this life more than I do," Atsuko informed the body idly. "You were a nice person. I'm not, really. I'm selfish."

Her words resonated within the room. There was nothing but silence to receive them, but Atsuko felt that that was response enough.

"I'd tell you that I'm sorry, but that would be a lie, I guess," she continued idly. "I don't really care about anyone other than Ryohei and Kyoko, they're my light, even though I don't spend as much time with Kyo. I have some other friends that I care about, but not as much. I didn't care about you."

Atsuko paused.

"I still don't really care about you- to be perfectly honest. In shows and stuff they say that people only start to care once there's nothing left to care about, but I think that's a lie. I hardly even care for my own parents, you see. They work too hard and they're gone too much."

It was sad, but true. She cared for them enough, she supposed, enough to take on some of their paperwork and assist in the family business, but no more.

"So really, I can hardly be expected to care about you if I can't even care about them."

Atsuko nodded to herself. "You must think I'm pretty cold. You'd be right, I guess. But that doesn't matter."

She sighed, turning away. It was getting late and she still needed to text Ryohei goodnight- she had left her phone back in her adjacent house.

"But still, you deserved better. I hope you succeed in the next life, like I have. Goodbye, Namie Subari-san."

Atsuko left the morgue.

* * *

" _Ryo, no!_ "

"Rhyming isn't going to stop me, Atsu!"

"B-but, don't you see?! He's a," Atsuko took a deep breath, still trying and failing to pull Ryohei back (it was more like she was getting dragged through the ground- she probably looked pretty pathetic doing so).

"He's a what?" Ryohei questioned curiously, pausing a moment to look at her.

Yes, progress!

"A _main character_ ," Atsuko hissed. "We are _side characters_ , Ryo! We stay the fuck away from main characters if we want to survive!"

Atsuko had nothing against Sawada Tsunayoshi. She kinda liked him, to be honest.

However, that did not mean that she cared for him. At all. Whatsoever.

Sawada was a walking trouble-magnet and almost everyone knew it. Except for most of the upperclassmen, such as Ryohei, as they did not really care to know what was going on with their kouhais.

Bullies, accidents, you name it, Sawada suffers from it. It was pathetic, honestly.

A good person would have gone over and helped him the moment they saw that sad, pathetic little bundle of fluff, as Ryohei was attempting to, but Atsuko?

 _Oh, hell no_.

This kid is, again, a _trouble magnet_. What if his mere presence caused them to be attacked by the yakuza? Or worse, what if they weren't about a few months from canon as Atsuko thought they were and ended up getting themselves involved with _Reborn_?!

This was Sawada Tsunayoshi they were talking about. As in, time-traveling, human flamethrower, mafia boss Sawada Tsunayoshi. _Anything_ was possible with him around!

Atsuko wasn't the type of best friend that wanted to keep her bestie all to herself like a total yandere. She was creepy and all, but not in that way. Atsuko wanted anything and everything that could make Ryohei happy to make Ryohei happy. If that meant new friends then yeah, sure, okay, she could get used to that.

But this?

Sure, she had resigned herself to being involved in canon. But that's it. Why put themselves in any more danger than they had to, before they were even prepared to face it?

Atsuko didn't remember if anything happened to Sawada before canon. And quite frankly? He wasn't worth the risk.

Ryohei was unimpressed. "Stop being so weird, Atsu. He looks extremely sad and alone and hurt and what if he-"

Ryohei cut himself off with a guilty look. _Ah, so that's what this is about_.

Namie Subari's suicide must still be weighing on his mind. He probably thinks that he could have done something to prevent it, something to have saved her.

Atsuko wonders what he would think if he knew that she could have done something. She resolves not to tell him- she didn't want to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to her, after all.

This is how he is expressing his guilt, she figures. By helping every stray he could in hopes that they don't fall to the same fate as Namie-san once did.

Atsuko didn't relent. " _Side characters_ , Ryo! This is risky business here, dude! _Very_ risky!"

Ryohei dragged her along anyways.

Atsuko paused in her hissing for a moment. "You know, this is probably why we don't have any friends."

"We have lots of extreme friends! And each other," Ryohei responded, an amused grin on his lips. He was probably trying to hide that he was still upset - crying was for later, on the couch at Atsuko's house with ice cream and warm blankets, they both knew.

Smiles made the best masks, after all.

"Sane friends," Atsuko corrected. "We only have crazy ones."

"Sanity's boring," Ryohei dismissed. "Yo! Sawada, right?"

Sawada looked up from his spot sitting beneath a tree on the school grounds, a bruise forming near his collarbone. He had enchanting brown eyes, Atsuko noted. She could see why so many people were so obsessed with him- she could almost feel herself being drawn to him, as though there was something so desirable about him that she absolutely _needed_.

But whatever it was, she couldn't have it.

Atsuko vaguely recalls something about Sky Flames drawing others in easily. _Freaky_.

Whatever it was, Atsuko wills herself not to care. She was not meant to be a Guardian of his, that was a Ryo thing - not an Atsu thing. _No thank you_.

Sawada nods hesitantly. "You're Sasagawa-san and Morishiba-san…?"

In canon Sawada had an understandably huge crush on Kyoko, so it was perfectly natural for him to know who the two people who were around her so often were. Not stalker-ish _at all_.

Please note the sarcasm. It wasn't like the kid had any other reason to know them, honestly.

"That's right!" Ryohei confirmed, holding out his free arm. "Want some help up?"

"T-thank you," the brunette said, shakily taking Ryohei's hand and allowing himself to be pulled up. It was clear that he had just suffered a beating at the hands of his tormentors and Atsuko knew that it was probably taking all of the patience Ryohei had in him not to go after the bastards and get revenge for Sawada right now.

He really was too precious for this world, she noted fondly.

"You look extremely lonely over here, Sawada!"

"No, I'm fine, really," Sawada said frantically, something dawning in his eyes as though he knew _exactly_ where this was going.

Atsuko bit back a snort. Too little, too late.

Ryohei glanced back at her with a _look_ before turning back to Sawada, undeterred. "You should join the boxing club! It's extremely fun and we're always looking for new members!"

Sawada looked mildly alarmed. "Um, no, I don't really think that boxing's my type of thing…"

Atsuko sighed. Ryohei really wanted to do this, didn't he? He was so good, too good. Who was she to stop him from doing what he thought was right, even if she thought that it was a huge risk?

She didn't control him and as his friend it was her sworn duty to support him in whatever he did, no matter how stupid. If he wanted to play hero with Sawada, then so be it…

"He doesn't mean as a boxer," Atsuko cut in. "Actually, I'm in need of an assistant- to deal with the paperwork and stuff. I don't have a lot of free time for it nowadays, what with school work and the family business."

It was a believable excuse, probably. Sure, she was talking to a human lie detector and all, but even if he didn't believe her then he couldn't exactly prove anything.

Ryohei looked surprised for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Exactly! Atsu's extremely tired all the time so she needs all the help she can get!"

"Oi, you make me sound like an invalid," Atsuko complained, swatting at him playfully, "So, what do you say, kid?"

Sawada bit his lip nervously, looking down. "Well…"

* * *

" _Idiots_ , meet my new assistant, Tsuna," Atsuko announced to the members of the boxing club. "Tsuna, meet our idiots."

The boxing club was composed of five other members aside from Ryohei and Atsuko. They _did_ have a coach, Satsuki-sensei, but she rarely had to make any appearances as the club was mostly self-sufficient.

Tsuna stood at the front of their small gym nervously, dipping his head. "Um, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi and I'll try to do my best as the new assistant?" he said unsurely, looking at Ryohei and Atsuko for reassurance.

Ryohei gave him a thumbs up and a blinding grin while Atsuko flashed her own small smile.

The reassurance clearly gave him a boost in confidence, for he then added, "Please call me Tsuna!"

Kami, he really was too cute.

Someone whistled towards the back, Kozaki Yusuke, a relatively newer member of theirs. "Is it just me or is he sparkling?"

"I think all the adorable's making you hallucinate, Yu," said Hanaru Rin, the resident midget boxer. Yusuke elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow…"

"Sawada, Sawada," said another thoughtfully. "That sounds really familiar…"

"Gee, I wonder why Mozumo." Atsuko rolled her eyes. It wasn't as though his name was practically infamous throughout their school or anything.

"Aren't you that kid who's always getting bullied?" questioned the tallest club member, Sukizo Kazu, putting a finger to his chin. "That's not a very good thing to be known for."

"It's extremely not!" Ryohei declared passionately. "Our first order of business today is to teach Sawada how to fight back!"

"Well, we can't just teach him how to fight right off the bat," added the club's final member, Tanida Kamui. "That wouldn't make much sense since he's too small."

"True, true," Kazu agreed. "We should teach him how to dodge first!"

"How to…dodge?" Tsuna stammered, taking a step back. Clearly, the poor boy was expecting the worst.

All the club members exchanged looks.

Rin stepped forward. "Yeah, dodging. So like… we try to tap you and you avoid us, like…" he trailed off, tapping Tsuna's shoulder. "This!"

Tsuna looked taken aback for a moment. "I just… avoid getting tapped?"

Mozumo nodded energetically. "Yup! Feel free to tap us back at anytime!"

Ryohei pumped his fist into the air. "Sounds like an extreme plan! We begin in three, two, one, GO!"

And so began the boxing club's game of extreme tag. That Atsuko so did not let Ryohei drag her into, thank you very much (not).

(And if anyone noticed Tsuna's eyes shining just a bit by the end of it, no one said a word.)

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So… did I handle that well? Yes, no, maybe so?**

 **Hm. We already have votes on who Atsuko should end up with, though I've already thought up my own ideas for two- one of which no one's mentioned yet.**

 **Still, I don't have anything solid yet so feel free to suggest pairings!**

 **Ciao!**

 **P.S. Dear reviewers, followers and favoriters, I love you all very much.**


	4. Chapter 4

(iv)

(Interlude)

Sawada Tsunayoshi had a hard time remembering the last time he had a friend.

(Perhaps it was when he was five? Six?)

For that matter, he also had a hard time remembering the last day he had made it home from school without any new bruises, self-inflicted or not.

This day was no different, either. Or, well, it shouldn't have been, at least.

Go to school, get beat up by someone or fail in gym or even fall down the stairs - if his luck was feeling particularly cruel that day - then go home with a few failing grades.

Wash, rinse, repeat. It was the same thing every day.

Tsuna had been just about finished with the second part of the cycle - about to go onto the third - when he spotted two people heading towards him.

He recognized them, Sasagawa Ryohei and Morishiba Atsuko from the senior class. He didn't know them personally, but he knew that Kyoko-chan, his crush ( _how could one not love the only person to smile for them?_ ) loved them both more than anything in the world. She had said as much, not to him, but he had definitely heard it said more than once.

They were like night and day, he thought. Sasagawa's sun-kissed skin contrasted greatly against the pale, near-white shade of Morishiba's. Her hair was like ebony, his was so blonde it was nearly silver. Even their builds and eyes were exact opposites - she was thinner than any person had a right to be with dark, almost-black brown eyes whereas he was fit and muscular with light, shining grey ones.

Tsuna almost wondered how such different people could be so close. It was obvious, from the way that they seemed so comfortable with each other's touch and the way that they always acted as though they were each other's other halves. Thirds, really, when Kyoko-chan was around.

It was obvious that he was their target. He wondered what they wanted with him; maybe Sasagawa-senpai had heard someone talking about his crush on Kyoko-chan and has come to set him straight?

That would make sense - who would want someone like him anywhere near someone like her?

Morishiba-senpai was yelling at Sasagawa about something, though Tsuna couldn't hear what it was exactly. It was probably about not approaching Tsuna, about him not being worth their time or something of the sort.

He heard that a lot.

Kyoko's older brother was denying whatever it was (was that guilt on his face?) and dragging his companion onwards until she seemed to have given up.

Tsuna thought about getting up, about getting away before he could trouble them, but he remained rooted in place under the tree. He was so tired, too tired, from everything.

Something in his mind, a little voice at the back of his head, told him not to move away from them. _They won't hurt you_ , it said.

Tsuna remembers the voice being louder, when he was hardly over a meter tall, instead of its current gentle whisper. Sometimes he couldn't even understand what it was telling him anymore, it was too warped, too garbled, as though it sounded from behind a locked door.

Either way, it hardly ever failed him. How else did he avoid anything that could get him into a hospital nowadays?

They were here now, in front of him. Tsuna had to keep himself from flinching at Sasagawa's loud, boisterous words.

Mid-conversation, Tsuna realized that the blonde was trying to be friendly.

Tsuna panicked. On the inside, that is. He probably seemed so anti-social, so unfriendly in his quiet and unsure replies. What if they thought that he didn't appreciate that they were coming to talk to him?

Tsuna panicked even more when Sasagawa-senpai invited him to join the boxing club. The upperclassman didn't actually want him, wouldn't want him. This was pity at its finest and Tsuna knew that he couldn't accept it - he would only be a burden if he did.

(No matter how much he wanted to take it, to be a part of something and to not simply be the lonely child standing at the edge of something special that he could never be included in.)

Morishiba-senpai broke her silence then. Tsuna had thought that she was opposed to this, to speaking with him, and hadn't been surprised when the pale girl had simply stood just beside her best friend throughout the exchange.

He hadn't expected her to speak to him and he certainly hadn't expected her to clarify the offer, to offer a place as her personal assistant.

 _Accept, accept,_ the voice in his mind, his intuition, chanted. _They want you!_

Tsuna hesitated.

 _They want you. Don't you want to be wanted?_

Yes, he did.

* * *

Tsuna's first meeting with the boxing club began only a scarce fifteen minutes after his acceptance.

Atsu-senpai and Onii-chan (as they had told him to call them and he couldn't help but accept - few had ever allowed him to refer to them so affectionately) had assured him that there was nothing to be concerned about in regards to the club.

"They're just a bunch of dorky jocks," Atsu-senpai explained. "It's alright to be nervous and all but I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up buried in hugs by the end of the day, dude."

Tsuna highly doubted it.

He introduced himself to the club members nervously, fully expecting the usual chorus of jeers and the like.

He didn't expect the grins and thumbs up, the welcoming words and introductions in return.

And he most certainly didn't expect for them to start trying to teach him to defend himself.

He didn't expect to be embroiled in a game of tag to learn to dodge and he had never thought that he'd ever find himself laughing so hard that he cried.

They didn't get any real practice done that day and Tsuna had a feeling that no one really cared.

And as they all lay on the floor, grinning and panting and teasing the two managers for their abysmal athletic skills -

(It was nice not being the only one that could hardly do anything and it was great to be teased affectionately instead of being made fun of to no end.)

"Thank you," Tsuna breathed, though he wasn't sure anyone heard. "For everything."

Someone ruffled his hair in response - he wasn't sure who it was, he was too tired to turn his head - and said, "no problem, Tsuna. Just remember that tomorrow isn't going to be all play like this, 'kay?"

"'Kay, Atsu-senpai."

* * *

The next week, Tsuna decided, was definitely the best of his life.

The cycle, the one that he couldn't remember even a single day without, was broken.

Each day he found a club member or two waiting outside his classroom door, greeting him with a smile; telling him that they were here to "spend some time with our new member, duh!"

Tsuna knew that they were there to make sure he didn't get bothered by bullies. They were nice people, too nice.

He didn't deserve this.

But he couldn't bring himself to say no, to say that he was fine walking alone everyday.

(Somehow, he doubts that they would have listened anyways, but it was the thought that counted.)

Tsuna had never had a reason to be selfish before, nothing to be selfish about. Was it really so wrong for him to take this opportunity, to enjoy the company and finally, truly, smile?

Probably - he was burdening these people to no end, he knew. He didn't do much aside from holding Atsu-senpai's calculator and typing in expressions while she balanced the budget and running around to get water for everyone when the mini-cooler ran out ("his majesty the asshole of Namimori can be _very_ cheap, Tsuna. We can't even afford a proper fridge!" "He wouldn't be like that if you tried harder to become the queen, Atsu!" "My hatred for you burns brighter than a thousand suns, Ryo.")

He isn't irreplaceable or important or anything. But for some reason, they treated him as though he was.

They thanked him and told him that he was appreciated. They helped him with homework on breaks (who knew that things could be so easy to understand when someone actually took the time to really explain it?) and laughed and joked with him.

Tsuna had never been so happy in his life.

And today, he even got to spend time with _Kyoko-chan_.

Of whom is apparently an incredibly skilled fighter and a regular here. Tsuna wonders why the entirety of Nami Middle's male population is so convinced that she's some kind of delicate flower - she really, _really_ isn't.

(Actually Tsuna's kind of scared now, _she nearly kicked Onii-chan's face in!_ )

"I just wish that _someone_ hadn't been so rough with the equipment or there wouldn't be such pressure on us for this tournament," Atsuko complained, glaring at Onii-chan without any real malice.

They were the only ones in the gym now, the four of them. Everyone else had already gone home to get some rest for tomorrow's tournament and they had been left to lock up the gym.

Kyoko giggled. "I think that might be asking for a bit too much, Atsu-nee."

"I'm not _that_ bad," Onii-chan protested. "I just got extremely carried away that _one_ time."

"You _always_ get extremely carried away!"

"Um, at least his intentions are good?" Tsuna felt the need to add. Ryohei didn't _mean_ to be so crazy about his training…

"See, Tsuna's on my side!"

"You really shouldn't encourage him, Tsuna-kun," the resident strawberry blonde chided. "That'll only make it worse."

"Sometimes it feels as if you're the only one that truly gets me, Kyo," Atsuko sighed over-dramatically, putting a hand to her heart. "The love of my life."

Kyoko shook her head ruefully. "Onii-chan, she's saying weird things to the wrong Kyo _again_."

"I think she's just eternally confused, Kyoko," Onii-chan laughed boisterously. He was so full of life, it was nearly impossible to keep up with him.

"I am not!" Atsuko protested hotly. "There is only one Kyo in my heart, right Tsuna?"

Tsuna nodded, though he couldn't help but add a jab of his own. "His majesty, duh."

The joke was kinda infectious, though he couldn't really imagine anyone dating Hibari, much less the boxing club's manager. Tsuna hasn't seen much of the older boy, but from what he did know Hibari seemed much too cold and unapproachable for any kind of relationship.

Kyoko gasped at Tsuna's words before pulling a brave face and marching towards the door.

"Kyoko! Where are you going? We aren't done yet!" Ryohei shouted at his sister.

You get used to the loudness, after a while. Tsuna found it to be kind of comforting at this point, to be honest.

"To fight Hibari-senpai for Atsu-nee's heart!" Kyoko declared passionately.

" _Fluff ball number one say what now?!_ "

Kyoko nodded. "As much as I support the royal courtship, I can't take the thought of him being the only Kyo to receive Atsu-nee's love! The only solution now is to fight him and take her love back by force!"

"An extreme resolve! I'll support you as best as I can, sis!"

"I don't think fighting Hibari's the best idea, Kyoko-chan," Tsuna snickered. "His fanclub might come after you!"

It was strange how just a few days ago she had seemed so out of reach and yet now he was conversing with Kyoko as though they had been friends for years.

Kyoko considered that. "Worth it."

Atsuko buried her face in the club captain's side. "I'm surrounded by psychos."

"Hey!" Tsuna protested. He was still sane, thank you very much!

"You're being corrupted already," the manager groaned. "Poor, poor innocent soul."

"It's okay to come over to the dark side," Ryohei said, patting him on the back consolingly. "We have extreme cookies!"

"They're double chocolate chip ones too!" Kyoko added, a grin lighting up her face and warming Tsuna's heart.

 _Yeah,_ Tsuna thought, _I really am the luckiest person in the world._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I thought it might be a good idea to occasionally write chapters from the point of view of other characters, to fully show the effects of the changes Atsuko makes and such.**

 **(That and I'm trash for Tsuna he's like my fourth favorite character honestly he needs all the love in the world).**

 **It's pretty interesting to see who you guys all want Atsuko to end up with and I gotta admit, I could probably see all of them? But I need to have a definite pairing by the time we get to TYL so sadly I can't just write alternate endings for all of them…**

 **Anyhow, thank you all for your reviews and I'm so glad people are enjoying this story! Like seriously, you people make my day. I love hearing about how people feel about my writing and feedback means the world to me.**

 **Ciao!**


	5. Chapter 5

(v)

If asked, then Atsuko, Tsuna and Kyoko would shamelessly admit to being the loudest ones cheering on the day of the tournament, much to the chagrin of the rest of the audience.

They won. It had been a pretty close win, she had to admit, but in the end Tokyo Central was no match for Namimori Middle.

Obviously - her boys were clearly the best. And Atsuko and Tsuna were no pushovers on support either, running around grabbing towels and water bottles and patching up injuries like pros.

Tsuna, unsurprisingly, has first aid down to an art form - having mastered it due to his own countless injuries. He clearly never imagined that the talent would ever earn him any recognition, if the way his cheeks flushed red at the club members' praise was any indication.

Atsuko hadn't bothered biting back a fond smile as she watched Tsuna interact with the others, as he slowly blossomed into the confidence that she knew he would have gained even without their interference.

That was all he had really needed - appreciation, recognition. He needed to be told that he was worth something and that he wasn't useless or no-good. He needed someplace to belong, something that the boxing club has now given him before the mafia ever had a chance to interfere.

She wonders how this new, happier Tsuna would affect canon - would Gokudera still be a necessary addition? Would Reborn try to pull the rest of the club into Tsuna's family?

Atsuko snorted to herself. _Over my dead body_.

Probably literally. One does not simply stand up to _Reborn_ and live to tell the tale, after all. He was probably scarier than _Hibari_!

And considering the fact that Hibari was her cowardice's worst nightmare incarnate, Atsuko was already kind of terrified.

It was funny how in all the stories original characters were hardly ever afraid of any one character here - stupid, really. These people are killers, or will be, at least. Piss them off and you die or get seriously injured.

Hibari, though he may have a soft side towards cute things, was already infamous for his short fuse and ability to kick literally anyone's ass.

Gokudera is a bomber. The dude has a temper and he can blow things up to high hell. In what world is it a good idea to be anything less than respectful and polite to that asshole?

Mukuro could probably have anyone down on their knees from his illusions within two minutes, tops. (Though, to be perfectly honest, this is probably the one that Atsuko will end up risking - she did _not_ want to be alone in all this reincarnation shit, damnit.)

Hell, even _Lambo_ was a force to be reckoned with - what with that seemingly endless collection of weapons in his hair ( _what the actual fuck, Hitman Reborn_ ) and terrible lack of self control.

The bottom line is, these people aren't characters anymore. They're real. They aren't some 2-D ideas sitting on papers or moving across screens - they're people with their own personalities and talents beyond what was stated in a franchise.

And they are _dangerous_.

An arm wrapped around Atsuko's shoulders, familiar muscles brushing up against her bony frame. "See, I _told_ you it was an extremely good idea to recruit Tsuna!"

Except for Ryohei, obviously; he's just her beloved ball of sunshine.

Atsuko rolled her eyes, having long since given up on Ryohei remembering to take a shower before hugging her. "I still stand by what I said before," she informed him. "But, I suppose it _was_ kind of worth it."

"Don't be such a tsundere, Atsu."

"Excuse you. I am a strong and independent young woman who can be whatever she wants to be!"

"Except a tsundere," Ryohei shot back with a grin.

Atsuko huffed. "What if being a tsundere is my dream come true, Ryo? What if it's the life I want to live and die with? The tsundere _always_ gets the hot guy, after all."

"What 'hot guy'?" Ryohei questioned in confusion. "You and Kyoko aren't allowed to date, ever. Men extremely suck and aren't good enough for either of you."

"Please," Atsuko snarked. "I can date whomever I want, whenever I want. Besides, what if I don't want to date a man?"

Ryohei's eyes widened momentarily. "You don't -"

"What if I want to date a shark? Or a pineapple? A skull? Or maybe even a marshmallow lord?"

Hey, he didn't know who any of those people were. She could use those lovely nicknames to tease him all she wanted for now, thank you very much.

She could see the images running through Ryohei's mind, horror dawning upon his face. "Atsu, you're _extremely_ scaring me right now…"

"Oh, so you wouldn't support all of my romantic interests, no matter what they may be? Some best friend you are…"

Ryohei recovered from Atsuko's strange response fairly quickly, a teasing smile playing on his lips. This boy is _way_ too used to Atsuko's strangeness at this point, honestly…

"Nope, I just mean that if you're going to date something weird then you may as well go ahead and become Queen of Namimori so that we can have an extreme unlimited budget."

"I hate whoever it was that came up with that shitty-ass joke," she muttered.

Dating Hibari sounded horrible. What if 'biting people to death' was actually a kink of his? What if she actually had to learn how to use _makeup_ because of that kink?

"Love you too, Atsu!"

" _Sasagawa Ryohei, you little piece of_ -"

* * *

"Atsu-senpai…"

"Yes, cute and fluffy thing?"

"Why am I coming with you to go see Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked nervously, clearly already counting down his last minutes amongst the living before the monster scared the life out of him.

"Because if I have to suffer through this then so do you, Assistant-chan," Atsuko replied cheerfully. "It's okay, death isn't so bad anyways. It must be nice and relaxing and free of all things Hibari and -"

Tsuna sprayed Atsuko in the face. _Where did that squirt bottle even come from?!_

Tsuna shrugged. "Onii-chan said to spray you with that whenever you started ranting about death."

 _Oh that motherfucking son of a bitch._ He turned Atsuko's own assistant against her! _Her assistant_! "I'm going to kill him. Then myself, because screw paperwork."

Tsuna sprayed her again.

Atsuko stared at him.

"You were talking about death again," Tsuna explained awkwardly. "...and that was kinda fun?"

"I'm feeling significantly less bad about using you as a sacrificial lamb against his royal highness now."

" _Sacrificial lamb?!_ "

Atsuko nodded gravely. "His majesty happens to just _love_ cute things and you're fucking adorable. I will sacrifice you to him for a few minutes in order to ensure that negotiations go more smoothly."

"S-sacrifice me to him?" Oh poor, poor little tuna-fish.

Atsuko wasn't actually going to do anything of the sort - what if Hibari tried to steal _her_ assistant? _Hell no_.

Hibari is a canon Guardian. In other words - he must be especially susceptible to that Sky Attraction thingy that has everyone begging to be near Tsuna but then pushes them all back - probably because of whatever it is that Atsuko vaguely recalled the current Vongola boss doing to Tsuna as a child.

However, whatever it is seems to have no effect on canon Guardians as Atsuko has yet to see that weird recoil reaction that everyone seemed to have upon first meeting Tsuna on Ryohei. Perhaps it's because their Flames naturally fit well together?

Sky Flames had something to do with harmony, specifically between all the other elements, so it would make sense if they naturally attracted what fit best to their harmonies far more than any others.

Perhaps that meant that his attraction to these 'best fits' overcame the seal in some way?

Regardless, this made Tsuna a _very_ good way to butter Hibari up.

She just had to be careful that Hibari didn't somehow whisk their Tsuna away to his Disciplinary Committee with his mysterious _drifting-Cloud-whatever_ charm thing and pretty eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to steal you back at the very last second," Atsuko reassured him. "Unless he decides to kill me for trying, that is. Then tough luck."

"B-but, senpai!" Tsuna protested, before he seemed to have a sudden epiphany.

Tsuna held up the spray bottle. "If you leave me to Hibari-san's mercy, then instead of only spraying you when you rant about death, I'll spray you every time you say the word."

Atsuko gasped. "You wouldn't!"

Tsuna merely laughed at her. "Well, if you wouldn't use me as a Hibari-shield, then I guess I wouldn't spray you that often either."

When Atsuko had still been living her first life, she had often thought that Tsuna would make the perfect Hufflepuff in any sort of Harry Potter crossover.

She was wrong.

Dead wrong.

This, this cute, fluffy little thing was _clearly_ a snake in disguise!

No wonder he managed to ensnare both Mukuro and Hibari…

"Tsuna, your inner mafia boss is showing," Atsuko informed him. "If you're going to act like a total Slytherin, then you may as well go take over a yakuza group while you're at it."

Fuck spoilers. Again, he didn't know anything of what she knew, so it was perfectly fine to make little jokes like these, right?

Right.

Tsuna shook his head. "Running a yakuza group sounds like an awful lot of paperwork. I think I'm fine being the club's assistant manager, senpai."

Atsuko laughed.

* * *

The rest of the walk to the Disciplinary Committee's office went by similarly, filled with banter and laughter that Atsuko couldn't help but appreciate more and more.

She wonders how her first life would have gone if someone had done for her what she and Ryohei had done for Tsuna.

Perhaps she would have had better friends; perhaps she would have still been alive today.

Who knows, it's not as though she even knew how any of it went down.

They passed by a few members of the baseball team on their way there. Atsuko made sure to place herself between Tsuna and Yamamoto as a physical barrier, not that she thought it would help anything.

Poor, suicidal, lonely soul he may be, Atsuko didn't see any reason to put Tsuna at risk of starting canon events earlier than he has to. Yamamoto was irreversibly tied to Tsuna's life, but again, Atsuko didn't know _too_ much about canon.

Yamamoto hadn't been one of Atsuko's favorite characters to begin with either, so she hadn't cared enough to know much about him.

What if he was secretly a psychopathic murderer? If he was involved with the yakuza? Atsuko's mind distinctly linked the words "Yamamoto" and "assassin" for some reason - she didn't like that _at all_.

"Come along Tsuna," she said, steering him away with a bony arm around his small frame. "It's best to stay away from baseball idiots."

Tsuna looked unsure. "That's kinda mean, Atsu-senpai," he said, his eyes locked onto his future Rain's form.

No, no, no. Bad Tsuna.

"Mean or not," she began, making sure to capture Tsuna's eyes once more, "- they are our competition. Most of us are graduating this year so we _have_ to beat the baseball team's record for most awards won in one year, yeah?"

"Oh," Tsuna said, looking down.

 _Oh, shit_.

Atsuko just reminded him of the fact that most of the friends that he had made in the past two weeks weren't even going to be there for much longer than a single school year. _Of course_ he was going to be upset!

Okay, good, at least they were past the baseball idiots.

( _Had that been jealousy in Yamamoto's eyes just now, as we were passing by?_ )

Whatever, he didn't matter right now. Tsuna did. She just had to fix this mistake of hers…

She wasn't Ryohei, who could make anyone smile in a matter of seconds, but…

"But hey, that doesn't mean that we'll be leaving you or anything!" Atsuko reassured him, trying to bend her lips into the grin that usually came naturally with her friends. Sadly that very same smile just loved failing her when she actually _wanted_ to smile.

Tsuna looked up at her. "But…"

"Shhh," Atsuko commanded. "We already all have guaranteed spots in the high school's boxing club, so that just means that you'll be switching to being my assistant over there!"

Tsuna still looked unsure. "Is that even allowed?"

"'Course it is," Atsuko decided. "I'll even fight the king if I have to! And die for your happiness trying," she added as an afterthought.

Tsuna sprayed her. "Thanks, senpai."

That smile could probably end wars, honestly.

"Some thank you that is," she muttered and the little Sky laughed.

* * *

"So that's that, senpai," Atsuko said as she finished recounting the events of the tournament to the royal pain in her butt.

Tsuna, as promised, stood a step or two behind her, nervously bouncing on his heels. He was staring at Hibari and if one wasn't looking as carefully as Atsuko was, then she highly doubted they would be able to see that subtle look in his eyes, that strange magnetism that she knew Hibari was experiencing.

Atsuko would be lying if she said that she didn't have an ulterior motive to bringing Tsuna here.

The simple fact of the matter was that in the short time that she had known him, Tsuna had managed to weasel his way into Atsuko's small group of loved ones and was now glued in there.

She couldn't have gotten him out of her circle even if she tried.

In other words, Tsuna is now under her protection. And while that didn't mean much physically, it did mean that she would be doing whatever she could to help keep him safe.

Atsuko was ruthless when it came to keeping her loved ones safe. Who do you think was the one who anonymously gathered all the evidence to send those high school students off to juvie all those years ago when they attacked Kyoko and Ryohei?

Her, obviously.

The best way to protect Tsuna, she knew, was to introduce him to people that could easily grow to care for him enough to keep him safe. She didn't trust Yamamoto enough to allow him near Tsuna yet, but Hibari?

Hibari was a whole other story.

Hibari, canonically, does not give a shit about anyone beyond those that he declares to be his. Even if Atsuko wasn't going to allow him to steal Tsuna away, there was no harm in making the introduction that led to Tsuna being claimed.

By gaining another canon Guardian - especially one of the strongest and most ruthless of the bunch - early on, Tsuna was essentially already being set up for success once canon comes along in about a month or so - perhaps less.

"I see," Hibari said. "I was unaware that you had picked up your own little herbivore, Morishiba. I suppose it's only natural for people like you to crowd together, however."

"Tsuna _is_ a very cute little herbivore," Atsuko agreed. Ugh, kami, his crazy-language was starting to rub off on her and she only saw the guy what, once or twice a month? "He's also a wonderful assistant."

This piqued Hibari's interest. "He's competent?"

Atsuko nodded proudly. "Yup! He patches up injuries like a pro and he's a total godsend when I'm doing our paperwork."

Good, good, come on Atsuko, catch his interest! Get Tsuna his Cloud!

"Interesting," Hibari said, more to himself than to them. "Stop cowering behind Morishiba, herbivore. Competence is nothing in the face of cowardice."

Tsuna flinched at the direct address and Atsuko nearly forgot about their mutual fear of the person before them in the face of her triumph.

Atsuko gave Tsuna a reassuring glance, but made no further moves. Tsuna had to do this for himself, after all.

Tsuna took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Um, Hibari-san. I'm sorry but, aren't we getting a bit off track here? We're supposed to be discussing budget plans, right?"

A bold move, Atsuko thought. Perfect. Now all she had to do was sit back and watch the show…

"We are," Hibari responded. "Perhaps you aren't so herbivorous after all."

It seems that Tsuna's direct address impressed Hibari and for good reason - Atsuko could never have pulled such a thing without having first known him for at _least_ a year. And even then it was a pretty big maybe.

"Umm, y-yeah?" Tsuna stuttered. "A-anyways, so you said that we could get that expansion if we won this tournament?"

"I said that I would consider it," the resident prefect corrected. "I gave no guarantees."

"But, everyone worked really hard for that equipment!" Tsuna protested hotly. He had seen them training and doing their best just as she did and he was _very_ stubborn when he wanted to be. She knew that Tsuna wouldn't stand for his friends getting cheated out of their reward - terrified or not.

"They did it not just for themselves, but to prove to _you_ that they deserve this! It may just be a few new punching bags to you, but to us? That kind of thing means the world!"

If she wasn't at risk of death via tonfa, then Atsuko would've whistled lowly. Talk about passion… Ryohei would be very, very proud if he were to see this.

"It's a chance to do better and to become stronger for the sake of the school, and for the club that everyone loves. Please, Hibari-san."

Hibari looked Tsuna over, silver boring into chocolatey brown. Atsuko held her breath in anticipation.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hibari finally opened his mouth. "Fine."

Atsuko and Tsuna both let out the breaths they had been holding, relief filling the room.

"However."

There always was a but, wasn't there?

"I will also be taking Sawada. I'm in need of a new secretary anyhow."

"Hiiieeee?"

Ah Tsuna and his cute little squealing…

Atsuko laughed nervously, taking Tsuna by the hand. "Sorry senpai, but unfortunately we have already thoroughly claimed him. _Bye!_ "

And with that the two managers of the boxing club ran out of the room like the devil himself was at their heels, leaving an amused Hibari in their wake.

* * *

"Atsu-senpai?"

"Yes, Tsuna?"

"Can we please never do that again? I thought we were going to die! He just… he has that _aura_ … like he would kill us if we made a mistake in there!"

"Ah well, too bad, so sad. You're stuck risking death via the king of Namimori with me every month now, Assistant-chan."

...

" _Oh my Kami, stop spraying me with that thing already!"_

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I had wayyyy too much fun writing this. Anyhow, this chapter goes out to my platonic soulmate and fellow lover of Tsuna, Natripper.**

 **I've seen a lot of suggestions for pairings and the problem is that they're all so… plausible? Except for Ryohei, sorry but that one's strictly platonic.**

 **So the candidates so far are:**

 **Tsuna: 2 (hmmmm I dunno about this one)**

 **Squalo: 1 (yes yes I love this idea so much)**

 **Hibari: 3 (royal courtship ftw)**

 **Mukuro: 2 (soooo many ideas for this one)**

 **Yamamoto: 2 (perhaps, perhaps, this would be entertaining)**

 **Chrome: 1 (all the love to the fluffle)**

 **Hayato: 1 (now THIS would be hilarious)**

 **Dino: 1 (Nat and I were just discussing this one, hehe)**

 **Shoichi: 1 (this one's just asking for angst. Lots and lots of angst)**

 **Enma: 1 (actually… intriguing idea)**

 **We shall see. Keep sending in suggestions! Oh, and my own personal addition to the list because I'm an indecisive bitch -**

 **Belphegor: 1**

 **Ciao!**


	6. Chapter 6

(vi)

Atsuko had never been able to get much past Ryohei. He knew it; she knew it.

"Atsu," he said and it kind of sounded like he was going to have a migraine. "- what're you doing?"

Atsuko would have tried to look innocent, but that was futile. Her other half likely knew her better than she knew herself, past life aside. "Be a bit more specific, Ryo."

"You didn't have to bring Tsuna with you to meet Hibari," he points out. Atsuko figured he would notice. "You _never_ do things that you don't have to do."

That was a stretch, she supposes, but he is also very aware of the scope of things she would do that she didn't have to do. Introducing a fluffy little creature (that is theirs and not Hibari's and Hibari would do well to remember that) to her worst nightmare was not in that range.

"Well," she begins and she doesn't know how to continue. She hadn't _actually_ planned beyond getting Tsuna his safety net.

What was she to say? _Hey, Ryo, this is actually my second life and I've been keeping my first one a secret from you for years. Oh yeah, and you're an anime character in it so I sort of know your future! Yay!_

"Well?" He's expecting an explanation now, a good one. She can't just play it off as a random urge anymore - not that she would have.

Atsuko could never lie to Ryohei.

How could she? How _dare_ she?

Lying to him would be lying to the person who gives her his absolute trust, who relies on her and leans on her. He would know too, he always knew.

And the worst part? He would probably accept it. He would think that she was keeping things from him for his own good. He would _trust_ her even though she didn't even deserve it!

She never deserved it.

Atsuko knew that she was much too grateful, that he was much too important for her to _ever_ do such a thing.

"I, um," she told him very intelligently. "Tsuna's danger prone."

Ryohei raises an eyebrow, his face serious as he gestures for her to go on.

She would tell him the truth, just not _all_ of the truth.

She wasn't ready for that. Not yet. She wasn't sure if she ever will be. Perhaps that was why she was so looking forward to the events of Kokuyo - she _yearned_ for someone to understand the true nature of death. To be able to speak of it and come to terms with it before she can finally present it to her sunshine.

Even though the chances of that happening truly are slim and the only person she could confide in properly would be a _mass-murderer_ , she can still pray.

"I want him to have a support network," Atsuko says finally and she knows that Ryohei knows that it's not the whole story. It _burns_. "To protect against the bullying - and teachers! Teachers hurt him too! I, I thought that -"

"- that Hibari would be able to protect him from that?" Ryohei finishes for her.

Atsuko nods.

Ryohei nods back. "Okay."

"Okay," Atsuko repeats faintly. Her arms find his waist and she can feel herself being pulled into an inescapable embrace. "Sorry."

 _Sorry_ isn't enough. It would never be enough - she was keeping things from _Ryohei!_

Atsuko was ruthless in what she would do for the boy beside her. However, she was _not_ ruthless in what she would do _to_ him. There is a difference.

"It's extremely okay, Atsu," he reassures and to him, it was. To her, it was not. "Tell me everything later?"

Atsuko doesn't hesitate to nod. He could probably feel it against his shoulder, for there was a slight tightening in his embrace.

It would have been uncomfortable for anyone else, but Atsuko didn't protest. She had, after all, inadvertently alerted him to there being something else going on, something serious and something about Tsuna.

She hadn't meant to do that.

There are so many words that she wishes to say but they lay caught in her throat, immovable, unyielding, so instead she says "wanna put Netflix on, Ryo?"

"Sure," he says. "One of those extremely weird American shows you like?"

"Please. I would die if we watched _another_ boxing documentary."

"I'd almost approve of that kind of death."

Atsuko looks up at him with hopeful eyes.

" _Almost_ , Atsu."

Atsuko pouts.

* * *

In her first life, her parents were one of the sole bright spots. She remembers loving them _so much_.

She remembers warm and loving embraces - rambunctious dinners and laughter and all the things she now received from the Sasagawa family whenever she came over (which was a lot, she even had her own room there).

She wonders how they felt when she died. Were they happy, to lose the burden upon their bills and their fridge? She was never the best child, no extracurriculars or jobs or anything to make them proud and to provide. She had other siblings too, better ones. More likely, however, they were depressed.

She had been their child, after all.

Morishiba Atsuko's parents had no such connection to her.

Don't get her wrong, she still cared for them, they are her _parents_.

But there was still a kind of disconnect between them, the kind created by hardworking parents that ran their own business and had no time to be at home besides for sleeping purposes and by a distant child too unsure of how to interact with them.

How could she call someone else _mama_ and _papa_ if she already had two other faces attached to the role?

It was cruel, really, to them all. To Morishiba Nanami and Morishiba Tanari especially, because Atsuko didn't want to to give them a chance. She didn't want to replace her fondest memories from that first attempt at living.

So she let herself drift and drift until she wondered if they even knew anything about who she was anymore.

And this, especially, is what made this rare family dinner awkward as fuck.

"So, Atsu-chan," Tanari (he's not really her father, is he anything?) began. "I heard that you're doing well in English! The teachers say you're practically fluent!"

Ah, yes, they did get reports from her teachers, didn't they? It's not like Atsuko would ever tell them anything herself.

( _What's left unsaid is that Atsuko has keys to the family business, that she can visit anytime._ )

( _They know what she is doing just as well as she does_.)

Atsuko shrugs. "It's easy stuff." It's her first language.

Nanami shakes her head, an almost-eerie grin on her face. Atsuko got her corpse-looks from somewhere, after all. It just looks _a lot_ creepier on the older woman because she's so happy all the time. "It's very impressive! Knowing English will be great for when you're taking over the family business!"

That's right, isn't it? Atsuko had said that she wanted to run the funeral parlor when she gets older.

But now, she realizes, that if she does so then someday it will be Ryohei, Kyoko or Tsuna's dead bodies rotting away in the morgue - that she will forever regret taking over the parlor because she had not been there to save those precious to her.

She cannot run the funeral parlor.

"Or when I'm in the mafia. Mafiosos like languages like that," she says, perfectly deadpan, as if she is not completely serious.

They laugh, and Atsuko wonders if this is how it will always be.

( _She knows it is._ )

* * *

"My parents are convinced that I'm Ryo's slut," Atsuko bemoans dramatically, plopping down upon Kyoko's bed.

"But haven't they always thought that?" Kyoko questions innocently, rummaging through her drawer for makeup and nail polish and all that other stuff that Atsuko is entirely convinced that she can do without.

Kurokawa Hana stares at the other two girls flatly, though there is interest sparking in her dark eyes. "Story time," she demands. "Now."

Atsuko isn't entirely sure what she thinks of Kyoko's best friend.

On one hand, they understand each other. They understand the feeling of standing beside something so beautiful, so bright, and supporting that brightness as best as they can. They share a role and they know this well.

However, Atsuko also knew this girl to be _canon_.

She knew nothing of what Kurokawa does in canon - her role, her relationships - but she knows that this girl has a place in canon and that makes her dangerous until proven innocent.

"Well," Atsuko begins, "- there are a number of reasons as to why they think that."

"She likes to wear Onii-chan's sweaters around their house," Kyoko supplies. " _Just_ his sweaters."

"And underwear," Atsuko protests half-heartedly. "But yeah, that does kinda make it look like we're screwing but honestly -"

"I'm surprised you're not," Kurokawa comments.

"- shut up, they're warm and comfy and cover everything they need to cover, even though I'm not even short!"

Just two inches shorter than Ryohei, actually, hmph. Cliches state that the girls must always be shorter than the guys that are precious to them. Genetics state 'fuck that'.

"It's because you're such a stick, Atsu-nee," Kyoko explains with a giggle. "Everything's big on you."

"That still doesn't explain why exactly your parents think you're like that."

"Ryo spends the night a lot," Atsuko says thoughtfully. "He's at like, half the breakfasts I spend with them. It's really only because we fall asleep together while trying to figure out school stuff, but it _is_ kind of suspicious."

"Kind of suspicious," Kurokawa repeated flatly. "If I didn't know better I'd think the same thing."

Kyoko nods empathetically. "When I was younger I used to wish that Atsu-nee and Onii-chan would get married because I wanted a big sister. But now? Now, I have seen the light," she said, looking up to the ceiling as though she had an epiphany. " _Royal courtship for the win!_ "

Atsuko snickered at the memory, ignoring that last statement entirely. "You were such a cutie back then. So sweet and pure," she said fondly, wiping a nonexistent tear from her eye. "What happened to you over the years, Kyo? When did you become so… so… _evil_?"

Kurokawa shook her head. "This one? Sweet? Pure? _Please_ , I can literally pinpoint the exact moment she stopped being all that."

"The floor is yours, Kurokawa," Atsuko said, gesturing grandly. Kurokawa nodded in response, getting off of the floor and grabbing a hairbrush, holding it like a microphone.

Kyoko giggled. "I have no idea whatsoever as to what either of you are saying."

Kurokawa flipped her off, pacing the floor as though it were a stage. "It was a long, long time ago. On a dark, stormy day in the third grade."

Atsuko nodded to herself. "Shit always goes down in the third grade."

"Three is an unlucky number," Kyoko chimed in before blinking. "I feel like I shouldn't be supporting whatever you're about to say, Hana-chan."

"Hush, evil creature of the darkness," Kurokawa waved her off. "Anyways, so, third grade. Some stupid little eight year-old monkey decided it would be a _great_ idea to confess his undying love and devotion -"

"You shouldn't make fun of other people's feelings, Hana-chan!"

"- and in doing so, the monkey went off on one of the infamous ' _I love Kyoko'_ rants, the first of its kind, mind you -"

"Wait, _that's_ where it started? Dude!"

"Someone would've done it sooner or later without this go ahead, Morishiba," Kurokawa dismissed. "But anyways, it was in this rant that the terrible and horrible thing known as Kyoko's ego was born!"

Atsuko whistled lowly. "What'd the brat even say?"

" _Oh_ , I remember this one!" Kyoko realized. "Um, I think he called me prettier than a Disney princess -"

"Okay now _that_ is smooth. Damn, that eight year old's got game -"

"- smarter than smart -"

"I don't even get that one," Kurokawa confessed. "Kyoko was an idiot back then."

"Hey!"

"It's true," Atsuko said with a shake of her head. "You had horrible grades back then."

"It's not my fault the teachers were all boring," Kyoko huffed. "Anyhow, I think he also wrote a poem, but I don't really remember it."

"Talk about young love, eh?"

Kurokawa shook her head. "Tragic, tragic love. The awakening of Kyoko's ego led to an awareness of her capabilities, of the way she affects people and all the things that come with that."

Atsuko shudders.

Kyoko shoots them a faux-offended look. "I'm not _that_ bad," she complains and her two companions snort.

"Besides, this is a sleepover! We shouldn't be talking about my super villain affinities, we should be talking about… boys!" Kyoko declares.

Kurokawa brightens and Atsuko hides her face in a pillow.

"That Mochida really is coming on to you, Kyoko," Kurokawa says. Atsuko frowns.

 _Mochida, Mochida, where has she heard that one before…?_

"Oh yeah, isn't he that one dude in Ryo and I's class? The chauvinistic bastard?"

"Yup," Kurokawa confirmed just as Kyoko began to protest. "That's the monkey."

"He's not that bad…" Kyoko mutters. Atsuko wonders how it is that this girl can see the good in just about anyone - hell, she'd probably even _like_ _Byakuran_ if she talked to him after whatever it is that his arc entails.

"He is," Atsuko drawls in response. "I've known the guy for a while and he _hates_ Ryo and I since our club is so much better than his."

The kendo club just wasn't as top quality as the boxing club, in spite of it being more popular. Atsuko was convinced that that was only because of the infatuation most girls had with hot guys with swords. She wasn't much of an exception, after all.

Kyoko giggled. "Everyone can get a bit jealous, Atsu-nee."

"A bit?" Kurokawa snorted. "According to the rumors, I wouldn't be surprised if he had two dart boards up on his wall - one for each of them."

"Tch, please," Atsuko dismissed. "There are at least four dartboards for each of us so that he doesn't have to change the pictures too often."

"Don't bother trying to convince her, Morishiba," the other ravenette said. "She doesn't want to hate the asshole since she has to spend so much time with him because of student council stuff."

"Anyways," Kyoko said before Atsuko could reply, "- you're a senior, Atsu-nee, but you've never had a crush on someone other than Hibari-san."

 _Tricky little Kyo… changing the subject before it got too annoying…_

Atsuko sighed. "I don't have a crush on Hibari, fuck your royal courtship. I happen to have a _very_ specific type."

Kurokawa leaned forward, interest dancing within her dark eyes like a shark who just caught sent of blood. "Oh? Care to elaborate?"

"Certainly," Atsuko said dismissively. "My ideal man is an elegant, prideful swordsman. He is tall and aristocratic, with long silver hair that perfectly fits his beautiful features…"

Atsuko nodded to herself, sighing blissfully. Yes, she could wax poetic about Sesshomaru from the anime Inuyasha forever and ever…

(Belatedly, she realized that she also just described Superbi Squalo and that that fact will eventually come back to bite her in the ass.)

* * *

 **A/N**

 **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **So, recently Natripper and I sat down over sushi to discuss every one of the possible pairings for Atsuko and whether or not they'd actually be healthy choices.**

 **In light of this, I have made a definite decision on the endgame pairing - everything before that however? Fair game. Atsuko is going to go through at least one relationship before settling with her final partner and the votes have definitely been taken into account for this stuff, don't worry.**

 **Thank you all for your opinions though! It was very interesting to see what you guys thought about who Atsuko should end up with and I'm so glad that everyone was invested enough in this to contribute. Thanks again!**

 **Ciao!**


	7. Chapter 7

(vii)

Today was…weird, for lack of a better word.

Atsuko and Ryohei's classmates kept staring at them and whispering things - Mochida especially had the strangest expression on his face.

It was prideful and irritating, as though he had just one-upped them. But that was impossible. The kendo club had lost their last tournament and Atsuko had heard that Hibari was _very_ annoyed with the waste of resources.

"This is getting kinda creepy," Atsuko whispered to Ryohei. The teacher had tried separating them, again, but Atsu just glared at the kid that took her seat for a bit and he jumped right out.

Ha, take that, annoying teacher-lady-thingy!

Ryohei nodded gravely. "I extremely agree. Something's going on…we should probably go find out what it is."

"But… Ryo… that'll mean…" Atsuko whimpered.

"I know, Atsu, I know, but we can do this to the extreme!" Ryohei reassured her, squeezing her hand. Atsuko buried her face in his side.

"Dealing with… _people_ ," she said, hissing out that hateful word. There was nothing worse than gossiping middle-schoolers. She had learned that well in her first life and her second has done nothing but reinforce it.

"I'll do most of the talking," he said, but Atsuko knew that that was not much of a reassurance.

" _Most,_ " Atsuko scoffed.

"You know they won't take me seriously enough," Ryohei said defensively. Atsuko didn't have to look up to see the frown on his face.

That was, unfortunately, true.

Ryohei was popular and all, but the truth was that hardly anyone truly knew him - he and Atsuko stuck to themselves far too much.

However, they did still _see_ him. Everyone saw the way he tried to help anyone he could, the bright grins on his face and the brilliant energy he exuded.

As a result, the entire class was convinced that Ryohei was too nice for this world and kind of an idiot.

Atsuko completely agrees, but the reputation leads most people to avoid telling him about any of the nastier rumors or issues - why bother the angel with such disgusting things? What if they upset such a nice and wonderful person?

How annoying.

If it was just Ryohei then he and Atsuko wouldn't learn very much.

Sadly, that wasn't an option. Those knowing looks and whispers obviously had something to do with them (if something was about Atsuko then it was automatically also about Ryohei and vice versa - rumors hardly ever surrounded just one of them) and they couldn't just sit there and take it.

Well, Ryohei couldn't. Atsuko totally could.

"The things I do for you, Ryo," she sighed. She could practically see the answering grin on Ryohei's face.

"I appreciate them all to the extreme!"

"I know, I know -"

"If you two are done _flirting_ ," interrupted their steaming math teacher, "- then it would be much appreciated if you started to actually _pay attention and do your work!_ "

Ryohei blinked in confusion. "But sensei, I'm not royal enough for her to be flirting with me."

" _Sasagawa Ryohei, I swear to mother-freaking kami -_ "

The entire class sniggered at their responses and they could see something in their teacher break. Probably that bulging vein in the woman's forehead.

" _DETENTION! BOTH OF YOU! TOMORROW, AFTER SCHOOL!_ "

"...I blame you Atsu," Ryohei stage whispered to her.

"I blame your existence," Atsuko whispered back, equally obviously.

The teacher may or may not have broken her chalk in her resulting anger. Oh well.

* * *

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Tsuna was challenging Mochida for Kyoko. There were so many things wrong with that image, but one thing stood out the most -

 _Canon._

This is _canon._

As in, the first episode of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Atsuko barely recalled anything of the beginning of the series, but this? This, she knew _very_ well.

This was bad. Very bad.

This meant that Reborn was already here, that _the mafia_ is already here and by the gods, Tsuna isn't ready for any of this shit!

Sure, he canonically wasn't ready either, but this is _Tsuna_! Her precious assistant of whom still had _so_ many confidence issues and anxiety…

Atsuko was sure that her lip would start bleeding if she bit it any harder at this point.

"I see," Ryohei said, and anyone could see the anger taking hold in his eyes. "Thanks for telling us all that."

"Um, you're welcome," their nameless (to Atsuko) classmate said. Atsuko didn't really care as to what else the person had to say, instead dragging Ryohei back to their nice, secluded lunch spot.

"That bastard," Ryohei muttered. "It's like he thinks Kyoko's some kind of a prize!"

"That's because he does, Ryo," Atsuko sighed. That son of a bitch… not only was he going to hurt their Tsuna, but he was also objectifying their baby sister! "Motherfucking asshole…"

Ryohei stayed silent for a moment, processing the whole fucked up situation. "I'm going to punch him," he eventually decided.

Translation - _I'm going to break his pretty little face so badly that he'll never be able to open his mouth and talk to Kyoko ever again_.

Okay, well maybe that translation was a bit _extreme_ , but Ryohei's serious punches were like that. It was like he was constantly unconsciously Activating them...actually, he probably was.

Stupid Sun Flames…

Atsuko wondered what her Flame type was, actually. Even if she refused to learn hand to hand combat, which she did, she still wanted to learn to use Flames.

May as well not be totally useless…

"I'll kick him in the balls," Atsuko said in agreement. "Eliminate the chances of another one of these things being produced anytime soon and all."

"Extremely good idea, Atsu," Ryohei said approvingly. "One is more than enough."

 _No one_ messed with their baby sister and got away with it.

"Why thank you," she responded, gleeful at the thought of Mochida being in any sort of pain. Fuck him. Not literally. Ew. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Find him and set him straight," her best friend responded confidently and Atsuko froze.

She may not exactly remember what happened, but she did know that Tsuna _did_ in fact succeed in beating Mochida.

This, inadvertently, probably led to Tsuna gaining more acceptance amongst the student body and a decrease in bullying, which Tsuna desperately needed.

The club couldn't be there for him twenty four-seven, after all. And it wasn't quite so well known that Tsuna got dragged to the Disciplinary Committee office by Hibari for minor paperwork stuffs here and there either quite yet…

"I dunno about that, Ryo," Atsuko began unsurely. "Maybe we should just let this happen?"

Ryohei looked at her incredulously. "But _Tsuna_ -"

"Shh, Ryo, listen to me here," she interrupted, taking a deep breath. _Fuck secrecy and insecurity. "_ Tsuna isn't defenseless. Tsuna is badass. Tsuna deals with _his royal highness_ on a semi-regular basis and survives! Mochida's got nothing on Tsuna."

Ryohei gave her a strange look. "It's a kendo match. Tsuna's never even held a shinai before. Mochida's the _captain_ of the kendo team! Do the math!"

"I _did_ do the math!" Atsuko insists. "And I think he has a good chance here!"

"Atsu, just how long did you stay up last night watching anime? There's, what, a two percent chance of him winning this? And that's only if Mochida fucks up to the extreme!"

While normally Ryohei is the type to be of the opinion that anyone can do anything if they try hard enough, he isn't stupid. And Atsuko had to admit here, he was probably right.

But, _canon_.

"For your information, I only stayed up until three," Atsuko sniffed. "And -"

"I woke you up at _five_ , why didn't you say anything?"

Cue the concerned look. Atsuko felt a bit guilty - he was always so worried about her well being but she could never quite bring herself to care about herself. She had Ryohei, Kyoko, Tsuna and the rest of the boxing club to care for - why bother with someone as relatively unimportant as herself?

"It didn't matter -"

"Of course it _extremely_ matters, you said you were going to bed at _eleven_!"

"But it was _Panty_ _and Stocking_!" Atsuko whined. It wasn't really an excuse. And maybe she was trying to hide her guilt behind a facade of shamelessness. Maybe.

Ryohei wasn't fooled. "Dirty jokes aren't a reason to lose sleep, Atsu. Even if they are extremely funny - you need to actually _take care of yourself_."

Atsuko sighed. "I'm sorry…"

Ryohei shook his head in disappointment. Atsuko felt an uncomfortable pang in her chest. "If we didn't have something to be doing then I'd let you use me as a pillow for a nap or something…"

"Yeah, so, about that," Atsuko said, returning to the previous subject. "We don't need to do anything yet."

"Yes, we extremely do."

"No, we don't. Think about it! Mochida's an egotistical idiot! And he'll underestimate Tsuna, of whom is obviously much more lithe and agile than he'll ever be."

Ryohei quickly connected the dots in his mind. "So you're saying that Tsuna can win pretty easily just by dodging?"

"Yup."

The boxing club's game of dodge-tag had quickly become a regular thing for Tsuna's sake (plus, it was really, really fun) and Tsuna was a _very_ fast learner.

He's a pro at avoiding things now- whether it be muscle-headed idiots or stupid kendo players. Mochida wouldn't stand a chance.

"And besides," Atsuko continued, "- if he wins, then the social acceptance he'll gain will be unbelievable. Mochida needs to be taken down a few pegs, so why not let it be done by the arguably wimpiest kid in the whole school?"

Ryohei frowned thoughtfully, running the chances through his head for a few moments before reluctantly agreeing. "I guess that makes sense."

Atsuko grinned. "I know, I always make sense."

"You wish," Ryohei teased. "You make sense...maybe a quarter of the time. _Maybe_. But that's kinda pushing it too…"

"Hey!"

Ryohei laughed, sitting down on the ground and patting his lap. "Get some sleep, Atsu. If you're going to be kicking Mochida in the balls after Tsuna makes him look like an idiot, then you should at least be alert enough for it."

Atsuko nodded seriously, laying down next to him and resting her head in his lap. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Though, I'm sure that I'd be perfectly alert if _someone_ didn't like jogging at _five in the freaking morning_. I swear, it's like you're trying to bring me closer and closer to my sweet, sweet death…"

"Where're Tsuna and that spray bottle when you need them…?"

* * *

 _Oh my fuck._

 _Hell._

 _No._

Mochida was cheating.

First, he started off by attacking without giving Tsuna a shinai. It was only when Yamamoto interfered and tossed one over that Tsuna gained any semblance of a chance.

 _Points to Yamamoto for that one, but I still can't trust him quite yet_.

"That coward," Ryohei hissed. There were very few things that Ryohei truly hated in this world and liars and cheaters were amongst the top of the list.

"I can't believe this," Kyoko muttered with wide eyes. Atsuko could practically _see_ any respect Kyoko had for Mochida draining away. "That, that bully… if only my classmates hadn't held me back earlier… I could have at the very least broken his arm!"

Kurokawa patted her back consolingly. "Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. You can get him after this."

Ryohei nodded gravely. "After I break his face."

"Once I get to kick him where the sun doesn't shine, of course," Atsuko added.

Kurokawa shook her head. "Nooo, that's not how you _really_ make him suffer! What you _should_ do is break his shinai in front of him slowly and loudly so that he can practically _hear_ his pride breaking into tiny little pieces. Then you should jam the broken pieces into his face and ruin those misplaced good looks of his - seriously, monkeys shouldn't be that hot -"

Ryohei and Atsuko stared at her. What the hell, since when was Kurokawa that sadistic?!

"After that you guys should just leave him there to cry like the pitiful baboon he is, but that's not actually the end. Once you guys are done, I'd go around spreading rumors about him having an STD or something - the power of popularity and all that. Then both Kyoko _and_ Sawada will be avenged."

Atsuko looked at Kurokawa in awe before turning to Ryohei and quietly hissing " _marry this woman._ "

Ryohei's eyes widened comically. " _Atsu_!"

" _Marry her."_

" _But!_ "

" _Marry. Her._ "

Kurokawa gave them a strange look. "What're they hissing about?"

"Something that I completely agree with," Kyoko replied, her eyes never leaving Tsuna's clearly terrified form.

From the very beginning, Tsuna had been at a disadvantage because he had been caught off guard. Even if Mochida was a total douche, he was the captain of a sport based heavily in _honor_.

How was Tsuna supposed to know that Mochida didn't even know the meaning of that word?

Mochida was chasing Tsuna around the gym at this point and Atsuko _highly_ doubted that this was anything like what kendo was supposed to be.

Ryohei's hands were clenched into fists, hard enough that Atsuko knew that she would have to bandage them up later. She didn't blame him either, this was nerve wracking as all hell.

Atsuko was so, so tempted to just run over there and take whatever hits Mochida had for Tsuna. It was _painful_ watching their fluffle getting beaten down like this and the crowd wasn't helping him at all, what with their jeers and laughter.

 _This isn't funny, for fuck's sake_.

Her only consolation was the presence of his majesty - she knew that he was probably here to observe Tsuna and see how he behaves under pressure, Hibari was thorough with the people he was interested in like that. But it was more than obvious that Hibari was quickly getting more and more pissed off as the battle went on.

The chances of Mochida retaining his position at the end of the day was nil.

But still, Atsuko would rather die than just sit here and watch Tsuna go through all this and she knew that Ryo, Kyo and the other boxing club members currently present agreed - but they were too nervous themselves, for Tsuna, to do so much as cheer.

It was like being frozen in place - unable to do anything as the anxiety crept over their hearts, ready to jump in and carry away their beaten assistant manager.

Kyoko was the first to snap out of her reverie, as Mochida was readying a harsh-looking blow upon the much smaller boy.

"Go, Tsuna-kun!" she shouted. "You can do this! Take down that bully!"

The reaction was immediate - Tsuna's eyes widening as his head swiveled over to stare at her, as though he couldn't believe that she would ever support him.

One by one, all of Tsuna's other friends began to vocalize their support as well.

" _Come on Tsuna, you're better than that jackass!"_

" _We believe in you_!"

" _Go, Assistant Manager-chan!"_

The cheers went on, others eventually joining in once Yamamoto did. There were tears in Tsuna's eyes - ones of joy and amazement, in spite of the situation.

Mochida on the other hand, snapped.

With a loud battle cry he advanced on Tsuna, bringing down his shinai for what could have been a devastating blow.

That is, if _it_ hadn't happened.

One moment Tsuna was on the ground, about to get hit by the wooden sword and the next he was up again, a crazed look in now-burning orange eyes. His clothing literally burned off of him and a brilliant Sky Flame lit up upon his head.

Atsuko's breath hitched.

 _Dying Will Mode_.

The rest of the battle was a blur, "surprisingly" ending in Mochida's defeat.

Atsuko shot Ryohei a grin, mouthing _I told you so_ and receiving an ever-more brilliant smile in return.

The boxing club carried Tsuna up over their shoulders to the other gym, where a change of clothes and celebratory refreshments were waiting. Atsuko stayed long enough to watch Hibari beat up Mochida and strip him of his captain's position.

It would have been perfect, if not for the fact that she could practically feel herself being watched and something told her it was a pair of beady black eyes that were doing all the staring.

 _Shit_.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Okay, so, couple of things that I want to address.**

 **Firstly, I received a pretty negative review from a "frustrated guest" that quite honestly pisses me off a bit?**

 **The review essentially points out and criticises all of Atsuko's purposeful character flaws and choices from** _ **the second chapter**_ **without considering that there might be psychological reasons behind them.**

 **Atsuko is fifteen. She also died at fifteen. However, that does not make her thirty years old. She was never treated as anything beyond her own age and doesn't have any real adult experience - so why should she be expected to behave with any sort of maturity beyond that of a fifteen year old? Sure, she's morbid and all but again, she is** _ **not**_ **an adult and her judgement is flawed.**

 **There is also a** _ **reason**_ **behind why she doesn't want to learn hand to hand combat. She doesn't know it herself yet, but it is there and it will be addressed later on.**

 **I think that about covers the review's criticisms?**

 **I realize that this person probably won't read my response, but I figured I may as well reply for my own peace of mind.**

 **Someone also requested that I take a look at a list of fic prompts and wow...a one-shot that I just so happen to be writing is on that list. While I won't say which one, I hope you enjoy it! I really appreciate all the reviews you leave on my work, they make me smile whenever I see them.**

 **Actually, all reviews baring that particular one make me smile. Keep em coming!**

 **Okay, that's enough out of me. Ciao!**


	8. Chapter 8

(viii)

Atsuko wanted to cry.

She really, really wanted to cry.

After all, what else could one want to do if their club had been invaded by none other than _Reborn_?

Decked out in his _Master Pao Pao_ disguise, it was as if the devil himself had invaded one of Atsuko's most precious sanctuaries.

Tsuna looked as panicked (and a bit exasperated?) as Atsuko felt, especially at the sight of the two Suns in the room getting along so famously. Reborn really was well known for everything he tried, baby or not and Ryohei was ecstatic to have a chance to finally meet one of his many idols.

He was probably worried that Reborn would try to drag his friends into the whole mafia thing - which was, unfortunately, inevitable.

Atsuko, on the other hand, was just dreading all the injuries and danger and _oh Kami_.

 _Ryohei_ was going to get so beaten down in the beginning of the Kokuyo arc that he would be stuck in the hospital for the entirety of it.

 _Ryohei_.

She almost wished she didn't remember that little detail. It made her doubt her own intentions - how could she want to befriend a person that hurt her sunshine?

Unless, of course, she managed to prevent that. She could do that.

Maybe.

Her arms tightened around Ryohei's arm, again. He looked over at her, concern shining in his eyes. Atsuko bit her lip, mouthing 'period' in response to the unspoken question. Ryohei nodded, it was true and they both knew that Atsuko tended to hug him rather tightly when dealing with the unpleasantness of the time.

The lie tasted bitter on Atsuko's tongue. She had to tell him, soon.

 _Why am I so scared?_

She didn't know. She didn't know why she couldn't bring herself to tell Ryohei, why she couldn't divulge her greatest secret to her greatest friend.

Maybe she didn't want to change the way he sees her. Maybe she doesn't want him to know that she was hiding anything more, that she had ever died.

He'd kill her for talking about death so much if she had already died. For being so accepting of something that had once happened, that could become their reality again - for making him think that he could lose her.

Sighing, Atsuko reached over to grab Tsuna's hand and pulling him into their hug. Tsuna, surprisingly, had a thing for physical affection. She could understand that - warmth and contact could easily become addictive when you were so used to never having any.

She was already addicted herself, after all.

Tsuna let out a small 'hiee' of surprise, but relaxed into Atsuko's hold quickly enough. That was good, a happy Tsuna was much better than a concerned Tsuna.

Ryohei caught on quickly to what Atsuko was doing. While he didn't exactly know what was bothering either Tsuna or Atsuko, he was very perceptive in his own right and responded accordingly. "Group hug to the extreme!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Atsuko could see Reborn watching the interaction with an analytical glint to his eyes. She hurriedly looked away.

It was strange, really, exactly how much her mind wanted to believe that it _isn't_ Reborn that she is looking at.

 _That is not Reborn. That is not a hitman,_ something inside of her insisted. _That is the famous boxer from Thailand, Master Pao Pao. Ryohei likes Master Pao Pao. You should like him too._

Atsuko buried herself further into the hug, desperate to keep her eyes away from Reborn. What the hell is this?

She didn't understand it. Was Reborn like Hibari or something? Did he have a secondary Mist Flame too? Could Arcobaleno even have secondary Flame types?

After the group had separated, Master Pao Pao - _no, Reborn_ \- addressed Tsuna. "You're the assistant manager, correct?"

Tsuna gave him a deadpan look. "You already know that Re-"

"Very interesting," Mas- _Reborn_ cut him off. "What does that involve, exactly?"

He's fishing for information about Tsuna, Atsuko realized. The changes in Tsuna are relatively recent and if what Atsuko remembered about… whatever Tsuna's dad's name is… is true, then Reborn probably doesn't know all the details due to the man's seeming lack of care about his family.

However, she also recalled the man being the head of an _intelligence division_. It was highly unlikely that he didn't know every single detail about Tsuna's life.

Sawada Whatever-his-name-is is _beyond_ disgusting, Atsuko decides, if he could know that his son was a bullied, struggling child with no confidence or friends and do absolutely _nothing_ about it.

Sure, she understood that it was probably dangerous for him to see his family - she got that.

But what about secure phone calls? Letters? Texts? Simple messages of _I love you_ or _I'm so proud of you Tsuna, you're the greatest son a man could ever ask for_ (because he is) would have done _so much_ for Tsuna's confidence.

After all, the one time Tsuna mentioned the man was with a resigned look in his eyes, as if he was _perfectly okay_ with being abandoned by his father because he was just _so used to it_ now. It wasn't right. At all.

Just the thought of the man made Atsuko feel sick. It also exponentially increased her already steadily growing respect for Sawada Nana, a woman whom Atsuko quickly learned is not the neglectful ditz that fanfiction made her out to be.

For one thing, she works. Nana is not a housewife in any way, shape or form.

In fact, she runs a small bakery known as the Hoshizora Confections whose hours were based around Tsuna's school hours just so that she could always be home to take care of Tsuna. _Mama's a very hands-on type of business owner_ , _I guess,_ Tsuna once explained. _She doesn't like to leave her employees to handle things without her_.

Now _that_ was dedication. It worked out very well too, since Nana's impressive baking skills made the business popular enough that working such hours took nothing away from its popularity.

The Sawada household was not held up on that asshole's probably immeasurable wealth. It was _all_ Nana, as far as Atsuko was concerned.

This is also why Nana remained mostly unaware of Tsuna's bullying problem. She already did so much for him - how could their sweet, precious Tsuna ever bear to burden her any more than he already did?

He never said it out loud, but Tsuna's eyes often spoke louder than the words that came out of his mouth.

So no, Reborn probably already knew all about Tsuna's role in the boxing club. He was trying to gauge something else.

"He's my assistant," Atsuko shrugged in response. It was like interacting with Hibari - she just had to puff up her chest and pull on a brave face. "He helps me with paperwork, meetings and runs around helping everyone out during practice."

"But he doesn't do any of the fighting, does he?" Reborn pressed, the smile on his face completely unchanged - _disarming_.

Atsuko has never met anyone more terrifying than Reborn. Master Pao Pao. Whatever.

Not even Hibari could compare, and _that_ says something.

"Nope," Ryohei answers with a grin. "But he's definitely not as defenseless as say, Atsu. Our assistant manager can dodge to the extreme and he's faster than any other!" the blonde declared proudly.

Tsuna flushes slightly at the praise. "But Onii-chan, I'm not as fast as you are or anything…"

"So?" Ryohei says dismissively, his hand finding its way to Tsuna's fluffy brown hair. "You will be, someday. You just need some more extreme practice, that's all!"

"Yup," another member of the club agrees. "Assistant-chan has just the right body type for it, but he's still just a beginner so you really can't expect too much out of him just yet."

"Give it another year or so," says their resident midget. "He'll be beating us all out by a mile or two, eh?"

It's funny, really - not even Tsuna is quite as short as Rin is. Nor does he pack nearly as much of a punch - seeing Tsuna uppercut someone straight into the air right now would be downright disturbing.

Atsuko snickered to herself at the thought.

"Uh oh," gasped Kamui, their most dramatic member. "Manager-sama is _cackling_! There is an evil, _evil_ thing brewing in her mind!"

"There is not!" Atsuko protested, mildly offended. There actually wasn't this time!

"Oh noes," Yusuke deadpanned. "Whatever shall we do?"

"Submit," Kazu replies automatically. "And buy her ice cream. It isn't worth the inevitable guilt trap that comes with resistance."

" _Hey!_ "

"Our poor wallets," Ryohei bemoans. "Have you guys _seen_ the extreme amount of ice cream she can eat?"

"Oh we so have," Rin responded, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye. "It's horrible - an abuse to ice cream everywhere! I can't even handle the thought… Mozumo, hold me!"

" _I'm right here, goddamnit!_ "

Mozumo shakes his head in mock exasperation. "And I thought Kamui was a drama queen…" " _Meanie!_ " "- but clearly, you people give him a run for his money."

Tsuna stares at him. "Did you forget about that one time when he cut his hand while training and started crying about how he was going to die of blood loss?"

Kazu nodded empathetically. "And what about the time when a guy stared at him for two point five seconds and he 'fell in lurve'?"

Ryohei crossed his arms and shook his head in mock disappointment. "Oh come on guys, you're forgetting all the funniest ones! Like that one time when he came in first place at that tournament and ran around singing about how he's the extreme king of the world?"

"Oh, oh, I have some good ones too!" Atsuko announced excitedly. She loved teasing her boys so, _so_ much.

"I feel like you guys are a nuclear hazard to my developing social life," Kamui said, a sad, defeated note to his voice. "At this rate I'll never, ever get a boyfriend… in fact, I'll live a sad and lonely, miserable life and it'll be all because of these simply _outrageous_ stories you guys tell…"

"Oh, shove a sock in it already."

" _Make me!_ "

Rule number sixty-seven of Nami Middle's boxing club - _never utter those two words without expecting a fight to the extreme!_

"You're all very close," Reborn notes. "That's a good thing to see in a family, don't you think, Tsuna?"

Tsuna fixed Reborn with a deadpan look from his place stuck under Kazu and Rin. "In a family, not a _family._ "

Reborn only smiled serenely in response.

This, Atsuko would later come to understand, was quite possibly the worst impression that the club could have possibly made upon Reborn.

Oh well.

* * *

Reborn's arrival marked many changes, Atsuko often notes with displeasure.

However, not all of them were bad. For example, the boxing club now has a treasurer. A beautiful, intelligent and wonderful treasurer of whom receives just as much love from the club as Tsuna for _very_ good reasons.

And as for how that happened...

"- and that's why it would be really important to me if you guys would be okay with Gokudera-kun being our new treasurer," Tsuna finished, a hopeful look on his face. This is important to him, they all knew.

There would be no _no_.

When Atsuko had first seen Gokudera trail behind Tsuna as they entered the gym, she had known what to expect.

Anger, distrust, explosiveness and a condescending attitude. A headache, really.

She had _not_ expected a nervous teenager, eyes darting around the room with anxiety.

 _Is_ this _really Gokudera? As in, like Smokin' Bomb Hayato, Gokudera?_

Silver hair, punk-ish attire, sea-green eyes… yes, it was definitely Gokudera. He didn't look Japanese at all, to be perfectly honest. He had lovely, aristocratic European features - reminding Atsuko with a pang of her old life.

 _I can definitely see why girls are so smitten with him…_

He was _very_ pretty.

Ahem.

While his stance was certainly defensive, Gokudera clearly wasn't as aggressive as the anime made him out to be.

Atsuko wondered why that was, exactly. Wasn't anger one of his defining traits?

Ryohei had a hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "Hm, I don't see why not. We could always use the extra help, right, Atsu?"

"Right," Atsuko says carefully. She knows what this person is capable of - it's best not to piss him off. "Okay, but what can you contribute as treasurer?"

It was important to establish a clear role with Gokudera, she remembered. While he was a genius, Atsuko knew that he also needed guidance. He needed to understand his value and what he should be doing in order to be at his best - she would know.

Gokudera was, after all, once her second favorite character.

Gokudera still seemed unsure, but easily schooled his features. A skill from the mafia, probably. "Juudaime has already provided me with a copy of the club's budget and to be perfectly honest here, it's absolute shit."

" _Gokudera-kun!_ "

The other boy frowned, bowing his head slightly. "I don't mean to offend you Juudaime, but it's the truth. It could be so much _better_."

"But you think that you can make it better?" Ryohei questioned with a tilt of his head. "It would be _extremely_ amazing if you could."

Atsuko nods in agreement. "While I do have some experience with finance, I've been working on a pretty limited set of options because of his highness and all. Any improvement would be welcome."

Gokudera nods, gaining more confidence. He takes three folded sheets of paper out of his pocket, presenting them to Atsuko and Ryohei. "I've already started on that, actually."

Atsuko took the papers, reading them over with Ryohei looking over her shoulder. "This is…"

"A list of possible outside sponsors, the benefits and drawbacks of associating with each one and the possible profits," Gokudera confirms. "We can start contacting them once I've finalized the list, but its pretty solid now, I think."

"Gokudera-kun," Tsuna says in amazement, watching as Atsuko flipped through the pages. They were all completely full of text, front and back. "How long did it take you to make that?"

"All night," Gokudera admitted, a red tint coloring his pale cheeks. "I had to make sure that they were the best, Juudaime."

" _All night?!_ But that's -"

"Perfect," Atsuko interrupts in awe. "This is…"

"Amazing to the extreme," Ryohei finishes. "This is just… _wow_."

Atsuko had never really considered gaining outside sponsors before. For one thing, the school sponsorship was enough as it is. For another, Hibari existed.

Also, Atsuko didn't want to have to actually _deal_ with people enough to finalize any sponsorships and keep them going, thank you very much.

But… _the list_ …

If she hadn't already been convinced that Gokudera Hayato is the perfect right hand man before, then she is now.

Everything is expertly organized and color-coded with dashes to show Gokudera's personal preferences. There is a clear section for each description, benefit or drawback to associating with them, as well as bullet points of possible profits- percentages, ranges of money, etc.

The Japanese wasn't absolutely perfect, but it was exquisite for someone who's first language was so obviously _not_ Japanese. Hell, Atsuko would never have been able to do nearly as well if she hadn't been learning this language for her entire life.

"But…" Tsuna trailed off, eyes wide. Atsuko had passed the list down to the other club members, of whom were already singing Gokudera's praises - anyone with eyes could see how hard he worked on this. "Why would you do this…?"

Gokudera looked down, slightly embarrassed. (And very, very adorable - Tsuna's taste in Guardians is clearly impeccable.) "Because… you said that this club is precious to you, yesterday. It makes you happy."

Tsuna's mouth dropped open. Everyone was watching them raptly now.

Atsuko wished she had a camera. Ryohei passed her his phone.

"I love you," Atsuko whispered. Ryohei chuckled, shushing her.

"As your right hand man, your happiness is something that's really important to me, Juudaime. So that means that it's my duty," Gokudera explained and Atsuko could _see_ how hard it was for him to say these things. "- to make it even better, for you. To make you even happier."

At first Atsuko couldn't help but think that this was very, very out of character for Gokudera to say. But then she thought about it.

Gokudera may not be the best with the interactions of people, and yes he idolized Tsuna a bit too much in canon, but he wasn't stupid. It didn't take a genius to see how little confidence Tsuna had, even after a month of having actual friends.

In fact, it only became _more_ obvious after Tsuna began to open up. He didn't expect people to care about him - hell, he expected them not do anything for him! He expected people to think of him as worthless but was always pleasantly surprised when they _didn't_.

Tsuna needed reassurance. He needed to know that he is loved and that things were being done for his sake, or he would never truly recognize gestures for what they were.

It was in the way he talked, the way he reacted to everything. Especially, she knew, in the way that he would have reacted to Gokudera's devotion.

Gokudera knew this. He isn't blind. He knew he needed to reassure Tsuna, and in doing so, he has decided that his pride is worth nothing compared to Tsuna's feelings, which is exactly why he was saying this now.

"I…" Tsuna was at a loss for words, his eyes shining just a little bit. "Thank you. Thank you _so much_ , Gokudera-kun."

"It's nothing, really," Gokudera said bashfully. "Anything for you, Juudaime. Anything at all."

Ryohei grinned, walking over to Gokudera and ruffling his hair. "Welcome to the club, Octo-head."

Atsuko face-palmed. "Ryo…"

"Did I _say_ you could touch me, Turf-top?!"

"Yeah," said Mozumo from next to Atsuko. "He'll fit right in here."

"Explosive _and_ precious," agreed Kamui. "Yum."

"Gotta admit Tsuna, you've got some great recruitment skills."

Tsuna smiled, watching his two Guardians squabble. "Yeah, I think so too."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Boxing club is love, boxing club is life.**

 **I feel like Gokudera's character isn't always as fleshed out as it should be and that's really the whole point of this story - to flesh characters out more than they usually are in a different way.**

 **Fun fact, by the way. I actually thought up Atsuko's Flame type and her fighting style before I ever thought of Atsuko herself. Then I decided that she should be Ryohei's bff for irony purposes and** _ **then**_ **I actually designed Atsuko herself.**

 **Weird process, eh?**

 **Thanks yet again for all your kind reviews - they mean the world to me!**

 **Ciao~!**


	9. Chapter 9

(ix)

Atsuko was playing receptionist today.

She wasn't quite sure as to why she decided to help out with the family business today. She had caught her mother's eye at breakfast that morning, a rarity, and had been filled with the sudden urge to _file paperwork_ and _talk to people_.

Idly, she wondered if it would be a good idea to go ahead and take a drug test later. That soda she had last night _did_ seem rather questionable.

It was about eight in the morning - half an hour past opening time. Her parents were in their office, conversing with some company or another about something that she found it a bit hard to care for.

Perhaps this was Tsuna's fault. Tsuna is crazy.

Crazy is contagious.

After all, the fluff - somehow, some way - actually _liked_ paperwork. Or so he said.

Atsuko wonders what exactly is in those bullets that Reborn shoots him with. Meth? Cocaine? Shrooms?

It started after Hibari made good on his decision to steal Tsuna away from the boxing club as a secretary. That had been an awful day. Atsuko doesn't like to remember it very much.

A day after the fateful meeting between Cloud and Sky, the object of Atsuko's worst nightmares (that was starting to be replaced by Reborn, but not quite) barged into the gym and demanded their Tsuna.

Atsuko had taken one look at Hibari in their doorway and wondered where the nearest bottle of sake was. Kamui nudged her with a grin and Rin winked. Atsuko wondered where the nearest gun was.

Mozumo innocently questioned if Hibari got the wrong manager. Atsuko wondered if her father's hunting gun had any ammo left. Kazu inconspicuously complemented Atsuko's legs, then gave Hibari a challenging stare.

Atsuko could practically hear the unsaid _you gonna do something about this?_ and nearly shrunk under Hibari's returning look.

Ryohei had grinned, whispering something to the terrified fluff known to the world as Tsuna. Tsuna bit his lip in response, steeled his resolve and promptly walked over to Hibari's side, saying that he would be back later.

Atsuko had been relieved, up until the following meeting with Hibari, minus a sick Tsuna. Hibari had fixed her with an anxiety-inducing stare at the end (but now that she thought about it he did have some _very_ nice eyes) and told her upfront that the school would not be paying for any mental health services that the boxing club may require.

Atsuko scoffed. "As if _you're_ one to talk." Then she realized what she said. Unwillingly, her dark brown eyes were drawn to his silver, _why are his eyes so pretty he can kill me what is this even_ , and he smirked.

Atsuko ran.

No, no. She wasn't thinking about his Highness right now. No, no, _no_. She did _not_ need to have nightmares during her next nap.

What had she been thinking about again? Ah, yes. Tsuna.

Tsuna liked paperwork. " _It's good,"_ he had said. " _Time consuming. You don't_ think _about it, you just_ do _it. It's better than homework,"_ he had admitted.

Atsuko didn't even want to know what his Majesty was doing to her assistant during those biweekly visits.

Perhaps she should decrease her Tsuna-time? Maybe if she did then she'd get sprayed by that stupid spray bottle-thing that Ryohei came up with. Probably.

But _Tsuna hugs_ …

Not worth it, Atsuko decides.

The door to the funeral home opens. Atsuko straightens up in her seat at the front desk, surprised to have such an early visitor.

"Hello," she says in as warm of a voice as she can muster, a contrast to her usual greetings of _hey_ or _yo_. You can't really interact with a person who's grieving in the same way as a normal person, you see. Be too casual and it will feel as if what they're experiencing isn't even real. Be too cold and they feel insulted. Warmth is usually her best bet.

Morbidly, she wonders how people would interact with Ryohei if she died. Would it be the same way as they would speak to her parents? To the way people talked to _her_ parents?

To _her_ 'friends'?

The thought leaves a bitter aftertaste in her mind. She doesn't bother wondering why.

"Hello," she is greeted in return. The voice is soft and melodical, the ideal for a young Japanese girl, maybe a pitch or two higher than Kyoko's. Quiet, hesitant. The girl is alone.

The way she walks is contradictory, Atsuko thinks. Poised and elegant, but shy and taking up as little space as possible. Her purple eyes are wary, empty. It's as though she expects the world to give up on her, as though she cannot bring herself to truly _live_.

Grief is not dominant, though Atsuko can see a bit of it too. Reading people who come in here is Atsuko's favorite hobby while working - she should know how to recognize it by now.

No. There is something else there. Resignation… no, that's not quite right either.

Atsuko's eyes widen without her permission as it hits her. This girl is an abuse victim. Emotional, probably.

Or was that going too far? She looks as if she is in a world not worth living in, a world that is crushing her with every step. The girl in the recesses of Atsuko's mind stirs with recognition.

The girl looks away. "Um. I'm here to inquire about Fujiwara Tanishi?"

Atsuko nods, guessing the spelling as she checked the digital records. It wasn't an uncommon last name. "Fujiwara… yes, here."

Car crash, not an instant death. Severe damage to the head and abdomen… overall, quite a bit of work for the morticians to prepare for a viewing. Very expensive too, with these requirements… damn.

"The reconstruction is currently underway and is due to be completed in two days," Atsuko says bluntly. Best to get to the point… "It is advised that you bring clothing for the viewing within twenty four hours of the reconstruction."

Oh, right. She was supposed to ask about who the girl was first… she got a bit side-tracked. "May I ask as to what your relation to this man is?"

The girl blinked in surprise. "I… I'm Takeba Nagi," she says, as though she is reciting a name that is not hers. Atsuko feels a spark of recognition at the name, accompanied by… concern?

Why would Atsuko be concerned? Atsuko only cares for Ryohei, Kyoko, Tsuna, Gokudera, Rin, Kamui, Mozumo, Kazu, and Yusuke. No one else.

It doesn't make sense. Atsuko let a girl die without any guilt, and yet… this _stranger_.

"I am his daughter." This is said with more certainty. Their last names don't match…

However, the funeral expenses are being charged to a woman named Takeba Rika. The secondary contact is the woman's husband, Takeba Shindo.

In other words, this _Takeba Nagi_ is an illegitimate child. Atsuko thinks that she can understand her a bit more now, with this in mind.

 _Why_ does she want to understand her, again?

Atsuko nods, tilting her head slightly. _Smile_ , she thinks. _You're supposed to smile._ "Will that be all?"

"I would…" she pauses. Takeba looks into Atsuko's eyes, perhaps for the first time throughout their interaction. Atsuko wonders if she has a thing for eyes - she seems to have a tendency to get lost in the pretty ones. "I would like to know why you're faking a smile."

Atsuko's lips quirk into a smirk. "You're pretty sharp." Denying it would just be offensive and come on, no one's _ever_ caught her fake smiles before, aside from Ryo. Because he's Ryo. Not a single mourner, not her parents, not even Kyoko.

"I - _um_ ," the girl says elegantly ( _how is that cute and elegant what the actual fuck_ ) as a rosy blush colors her pale cheeks. "Thank you?"

"You're welcome," Atsuko says and wow, she's actually doing this 'human interaction' thing. She thought she hated human interaction unless it came with snuggles and food. "To answer your question, I decided that I wanted to be nice today. I'm not usually very nice."

"Ah," Takeba responds, tilting her head slightly, violet strands curtaining an equally violet eye. "But only a nice person can decide to be nice. Anyone else is fake."

The visage is scarily familiar, somehow, but she doesn't quite know how. _Canon_ , Atsuko thinks. But who? It's been fifteen years - she can hardly even remember half the cast's names! "Then I must be fake."

Yes, she is fake. Atsuko knows she is. She _is_. She remembers what fake people were like in her first life - they were horrible people that _lied, lied and_ _ **lied**_ _._ She lied to _Ryohei_.

Ryohei was going to get hurt and she couldn't even bring herself to warn him.

Ryohei will be hurt and _damaged and_ _ **oh god it's all my fault**_.

She is a bare imitation of a best friend. What kind of a best friend would do this? Or rather, not do anything at all?

She could _try_ to do something, anything, but she is weak and would only serve as a flimsy shield at best, leaving Ryohei to get hurt the moment she is out cold.

Morishiba Atsuko is powerless.

She couldn't fight or do anything - she _always_ relied on Ryohei for _everything_. Like a damned leech.

Maybe they would hurt her worse than him? Yes, that would be good. Not good, but better.

Perhaps - "No, you aren't."

Atsuko blinked, snapping out of her reverie. "Huh?" she said very intelligently. Sue her.

Takeba nodded. "There was pain in your eyes just now. Fake people don't hurt themselves like that." Her voice was hardly even a whisper, far off, as though she was lost in a world of memories. "They can't hurt what they love more than anything. Themselves."

"I'm not very easy to love," Atsuko says sardonically. "I don't know why anyone would, much less me."

"But someone loves you?" Takeba has such expressive eyes. Atsuko can read the girl like a book. Now, she knows, Takeba is hopeful. Yearning. Does she want to know what love is like?

"Love," Atsuko tastes the word on her lips. Ryohei loves her, she knows. Of all the things in this new life, that was never really a question. It had showed a lot over the years, like when Atsuko had an anxiety attack over gaining three pounds in a month in the fifth grade, when her memories were still fresh.

That, she recalls, is when she first learned that she is loved. When she was hugged and given all the innocently comforting words a fifth grader could provide and told that her weight could never make her any less of an extreme best friend - that she could weigh three hundred pounds and he would still love her like he loves Kyoko.

Or the time when she had her first crush, when they were thirteen. It was an innocent thing, a spark for a classmate that she didn't even think she was capable of. But alas, she is Atsuko and therefore incapable of hiding her feelings. The guy noticed, and she was rejected.

 _It's okay,_ Ryohei had said. _You don't_ need _a guy anyway, they're all extremely stupid!_

 _But what does that make you?_ she sniffed.

 _Extremely stupid. But I guess you'll just have to deal with it, since I won't leave you. I'm your best friend._

 _I love you, Ryo._

 _I love you too, Atsu._

Yes, Atsuko is definitely loved.

"You can say that," she answers, finally. Takeba's eyes are wide with innocent wonder at this, as though she has never heard of such an anomaly.

"What is it like…? Being loved?" the girl asks, reverence coating the word like cotton around delicate glass.

A laugh escapes Atsuko's lips before she can stop it. "Someone's a busybody."

Takeba's face falls.

Atsuko feels like she just kicked a puppy. Suddenly she feels nervous - how does one _describe_ love? "I. Um. Right. It's… warm? Very warm. And it's heavy - you always know it's there, the love. But it's not a bad kind of heavy? It's, it's like the weight of a thick blanket on your shoulders when you're a kid, y'know?"

"I don't," Takeba murmurs. "No… I did. For a day. Then he died."

"Oh," Atsuko says. What else can she say?

"Can I go see him?"

Atsuko sighs. "It's not going to be pretty. And the morticians won't be here til nine."

"I know."

Atsuko gets up, motioning for the girl to follow.

Chrome Dokuro, she decides, is a sad and lonely existence and Mukuro needs to get his sorry ass over here before Atsuko ends up platonically falling in love with another fluff.

* * *

In hindsight, finding herself and the rest of the boxing club at the Sawadas' dinner table was less than surprising.

Sawada Nana had been more than simply delighted to learn that her beloved Tsuna had made so many new friends and demanded that he invite them over for dinner.

"Thank you all so much for being there for my Tsu-kun," Nana said, an almost-blinding smile gracing them upon the matriarch's face. "I know he can be quite the handful!"

"Kaa-san!" Tsuna hissed in embarrassment, earning laughter from the rest of the group.

Atsuko had to admit, Ie-what's-his-face is one lucky of son of a bitch. Nana is downright modelesque in her beauty and her cheerful demeanor was enough to spread smiles to everyone around her.

 _Damn._

Don't get her wrong here, Atsuko's fairly certain that she prefers men, but she had to admit that she was a bit jealous of the bastard. To have a significant other that was this wonderful and for them to be loyal enough to stay with you even if you left them alone for years on end?

 _Lucky son of a bitch._

Hayato shook his head in a firm denial. "It's no trouble at all, Sawada-san! It's our pleasure!"

Nana giggled at Hayato's enthusiasm. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Mama, Gokudera-kun? You're around here often enough that it's like you're one of mine already!"

Hayato blushed a particular shade of red that Atsuko likened to the color of his element.

"I couldn't, really," Hayato says humbly. The person sitting next to him, Kamui pats his head. "Cuteness overloads'll just make it worse for you~" he said sagely.

Everyone in the boxing club referred to each other on a first name - or nickname - basis. It was a simple unsaid rule that even Hayato had not been immune to the pull of.

It was a simplistic type of intimacy, but Atsuko couldn't help but enjoy it. In their culture, it was something special. Atsuko loved being a part of something special.

"Do you ever shut up?" Hayato complained. There wasn't any real heat in it.

Rin laughed whole-heartedly, wagging his eyebrows at the two. "If all else fails, try the duct tape. I hear it makes for a lovely experience at night."

" _Rin!_ " chorused several shocked voices.

"We're at _dinner!_ With _my mother!_ And _Reborn!_ "

"The _hell_ is wrong with you, shortstack?!"

" _So_ many things," Mozumo sighs. "Rabid shipper."

"Hey," Rin says, offended. "I am _not_ short. I'm fun-sized. Also, you're one to talk, Mozu."

"I feel like everyone in this room is a rabid shipper," Kazu notes. "No offense Sawada-san, kiddo."

"None taken," Reborn responds from his seat at the head of the table. Of course he would be at the head of the table. "Shipping can be _very_ entertaining. It is also an ancient and revered art practiced and perfected by the mafiosos of legend."

" _Reborn!_ "

"Ooo," Yusuke chimes in. "I feel like a history lesson is coming on. History is love, history is life."

"You have boring kinks," Atsuko sniffs. Ryohei snorts. "Better than _biting_ kinks." " _Hey!_ "

"Oh my god," Tsuna says, looking at Kyoko for help. Kyoko merely smiles serenely and shushes him. "History time, Tsuna-kun. _Shipping_ history time."

"Sorry dude," Mozumo says consolingly. "But let's be honest here, there would be literally no difference if the boxing club was converted into the shipping club."

"Yes there would," Hayato snorts. "Please. The budget would be _much_ higher. We would need cameras, _lots_ of cameras, printers for ship posters, disguises… ugh, the money…"

"Marry me," Kamui whispers reverently. "That, that dedication to the art… oh kami…"

"In your dreams, moron."

"That's an extremely painful rejection, octo-head," Ryohei notes. Atsuko nods empathetically. "Poor baby."

Kamui sniffles. Kazu sighs, putting an arm around their idiot of a friend. "There, there."

Nana smiles warmly at the group and Atsuko pretends that the woman doesn't look like she's about to cry tears of joy. "You have such interesting friends, Tsu-kun."

Tsuna sighs, shaking his head in exasperation with a fond smile. "Tell me about it."

 _BANG!_

Everyone jumped, except Kyoko and Atsuko. They grew up with Ryohei.

"Now that I have your attention," Reborn began, clearing his throat. "I would like to share the secret history of shipping in the mafia, begun by the king of romance and violence - a man called Primo."

Atsuko leaned over to Ryohei, raising an eyebrow in silent question. _First?_

Ryohei shakes his head, a grin gracing his thin lips. _It's the kid_.

Reborn is a strange child. From what Ryohei knows, at least. Atsuko isn't going to think about that right now.

Atsuko nods, settling her head down on Ryohei's shoulder and watching her friends listen to Reborn's story with rapt attention.

It's nice, having a family like this.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Welcome aboard the Royal Train Wreck everyone, I do so hope you enjoy your ten to twenty chapter stay.**

 **So. This could have been longer… but I felt like I needed to just get it out, y'know?**

 **I'm sorry I haven't been updating, but honestly life has been** _ **very**_ **stressful for me as of late. Like, I cannot even begin to describe it.**

 **So...yeah. Thank you guys for sticking with this story - all of your reviews mean the world to me. Seriously.**

 **Also, if you guys ever want to message me to ask about any of my stories or hell, just to have a chat, my tumblr's erilencia (though it doesn't have much on it yet) and I'm on ao3 as erikaelencia. Please don't be shy!**

 **Anyhow, the next chapter should come in a few days, promise!**

 **Without further adieu, ciao!**

 **P.S. OperaEagle IcelynLacelett, that comment about a one-shot was totally for you. As for when it'll be out...um… I don't quite have an answer for that yet… ^_^'**

 **P.P.S. Someone mentioned shipping Hayato and Kamui. I support this. (That and I need my yaoi fix and I still have no idea as to whether or not Tsuna gets a pairing, soooo.)**


	10. Chapter 10

(x)

(Ryohei Interlude)

Sasagawa Ryohei hadn't always been good at making friends, you see.

It wasn't that he wasn't friendly, nor was it that people disliked him or anything like that.

He was just loud. _Very_ loud.

Ryohei's always been pretty fond of living life to the extreme, after all.

A lot of kids his age (at the time, eight) didn't really like that. Sure, Ryohei had made for a good playmate once in a blue moon, but long term? It had probably been a bit embarrassing.

Ryohei had had a collection of acquaintances as a child, but few friends. He had his sister, but Kyoko was in a different class, in a different year. He had once considered pretending to be dumb to get left back so that he could be with her, but really, even _he_ couldn't fake being bad enough at school to be left back two years.

But then again, it probably wouldn't have been too hard. Even as a child Ryohei had had a reputation amongst his teachers for being kind of an idiot, too slow with too much of a tendency to ask obvious questions. Hell, he _still_ had that reputation for about a month or two every year. Then the teachers saw his grades and promptly shut up.

It might have even been worth trying, if he hadn't met Morishiba Atsuko.

Ryohei was weird. Strange to the extreme. Kids didn't like that kind of thing.

But he was lonely too and no kid liked being lonely. Sure, he didn't _look_ lonely, but he was never one to let anyone see that kind of thing. He always was, had to be, the strong one to the extreme, for Kyoko, for Atsuko, his parents, the club.

When Ryohei first laid eyes upon Atsuko in the second grade, his first thoughts were that she looked as extremely lonely as he felt and that she needed a friend.

But then again, she looked quiet. He wasn't. She probably wanted a different friend.

And so, he waited. Even after a few days, the girl was still as alone as ever. Ryohei had made a few more acquaintances in that time, but nothing solid or lasting (even for an eight year old). Ryohei hated the feeling of wanting to do something without being able to actually do it - especially when it came to things like this.

The next day, he approached her.

Their first interaction was nothing to really write home about.

"Hey!" he had said, loudly, wearing his best grin. Smiles made people friendlier, he noticed. "Atsuko-chan, right?"

Ryohei had expected an expression of shyness, not the sheer boredom he has been greeted with.

"Sasagawa-san. What do you want?"

It was something new, different. He hadn't ever been greeted like this, but somehow it was better. More honest. He knew where he stood from the simple question - there was no awkward laughter or misdirection.

He liked that.

"Let's be friends to the extreme!"

"No."

Ryohei didn't give up. Atsuko didn't relent.

Eventually, after a month or so of this, their childish arguments became more like banter and they began to seek each other out the moment they entered the school.

It was a simple routine - sitting down together everyday. Atsuko would pretend that they weren't friends, Ryohei would hear the laughter in her voice as she said as much. He would chatter on and on, she would listen. She would hesitantly bring up something she liked, Ryohei would go home and see if he liked it too.

He didn't always like what Atsuko liked, but when he did it was great to the extreme - they had _things_ to talk about!

They never explicitly said 'we're friends', they simply were. And then they became best friends, two halves of one whole - only really needing each other.

They didn't interact with the other children very much unless it was for a team sport or a group assignment. Why bother? They were just fine on their own.

It was easy, natural, the way their friendship fell into place. When Ryohei started boxing lessons Atsuko would never miss a single one. When Atsuko wanted to try new things - new foods or new shows, the like, Ryohei was always there to enjoy them with her.

They did things together because they both knew how much _better_ it was than to be alone.

It was warm, extremely warm, like the way he felt with Kyoko. Speaking of, Kyoko liked Atsuko too. Her _Atsu-nee_ , she said. Ryohei couldn't have been happier - it would have been hard to continue a friendship with a person that Kyoko didn't like.

Well, truthfully it was near-impossible for Kyoko _not_ to like someone, but that was besides the point.

As the years went by, they only became closer and closer. Ryohei was well aware that their friendship wasn't exactly normal, probably more than Atsuko was. It wasn't quite normal for a girl to sleep in her best friend's sweaters, or walk around her house in _only_ said sweaters.

Most boy/girl best friends also didn't walk around holding hands all the time, he noticed. They didn't seem to be as physically affectionate, either. They probably didn't rely on each other as much as Atsuko and Ryohei did, for emotional support and validation and everything that came in between.

 _Codependency_ , he knew it was called. Probably a bit unhealthy, but it wasn't like they couldn't survive without each other, probably.

Ryohei didn't actually care. The looks they got from teachers and other kids were an indication that they, outsiders, did, but that just made Ryohei care extremely less.

When Ryohei was named captain of the boxing club, it was only natural that Atsuko be manager. They knew each other like the backs of their hands, working together almost-seamlessly.

(Atsuko still glares pretty venomously at him everytime he breaks something while training and Ryohei fully admits to being _extremely_ annoyed by the way that Atsuko somehow manages to drink all their grape soda in an hour and never leaves him any, the hoarder.)

It wasn't hard to include the rest of the club, their _real_ friends (wow, that was new for a while) in on their routine either. Everyone fit into their life seamlessly - the banter, the hard work, the love.

Ryohei liked to think that their little family was perfect. In fact, his whole life was perfect. He has the world's greatest best friend, a loving little sister, understanding parents and a whole club full of people just as passionate about boxing as he is.

Of course, the real world wasn't perfect. Things changed. And so, Ryohei always did his absolute best to maintain this perfection - he got near-perfect test results in everything but history (sorry, but no amount of perfectionism was ever going to make him stay awake through an entire history lecture) to maintain his status as the club's captain.

He stayed by Atsu's side and supported her through everything she did. He gave her his every secret in return for her own - though he knew she still had a few left. But he also knew that she couldn't keep anything from him for over a few months without having a mental breakdown over the guilt, so he could afford to be patient.

Ryohei is her shoulder to cry on, Atsuko is his rock, keeping him afloat in this endless sea of changes and fragility.

He listens to Kyoko. He listens to her every trouble, holding her, providing her with only the best of extreme brotherly advice. Kyoko, he has always known, is not the flawless, secure little princess she likes to make herself out to be. He spars with her, keeps himself from fighting every person to anger him. He loves her and he will always do whatever it takes to keep her smiling.

Ryohei was convinced that he was doing everything right - that nothing could go wrong in this life of his so long as he continued on like this.

But then reality came knocking on his door.

Namie Subari, a bright, brilliant girl, committed suicide.

He recalls the silence of the classroom as the teacher's news hit them like a pile of bricks - or would chunks of ice be a better comparison? Either way, it was…

Ryohei remembers that the girl used to have a lot of friends - almost everyone in the class. They talked once or twice, but he's never really felt the need to talk to anyone in his class besides Atsuko and the other club members present, Rin and Kazu. She would answer the teacher's every question, score in the top ten on every exam.

Sometimes she caught her looking at them, though he could never identify the emotion. Now, he realizes, the girl had wished to have an other half for herself - someone to see that she was being abused, someone to save her from her nightmares.

But she wasn't so lucky. That didn't happen.

The entire class missed it, what was going on. Ryohei missed it and she had literally been sitting _right in front of him_ , day by day.

That scared him. Terrified him.

What if he missed something like that with Kyoko? Atsuko? What if something was going on right before his eyes, and yet he was entirely blind to it?

He was entirely certain, _extremely_ certain, that he would never be able to handle that.

If anyone noticed that he switched seats so that his arm never left Atsuko's shoulders at school for the next few days, then no one said a word.

Atsuko had been, unsurprisingly, unphased by their classmate's death. She lived with death, was surrounded by it, in a way that he could tell wasn't just because of what her family did. It was tied to her, somehow, and he hated that.

There was nothing he hated more than Atsuko talking about death. It was like a tic with her, she couldn't actually control it, he noticed. Death was simply always on her mind, whether they liked it, or not.

He _hates_ it.

He hates that it reminds him of her mortality. One wrong move, one mistake, one accident, and he will be alone. Not alone, per se, but half empty.

He _can't_ , won't, be without Atsuko. He'd protect her, no matter what. He needs her to be there to treat his hands after he trains until they bleed, he needs her to ride her bike with him as he runs at sunrise, to be _there_ for him.

Now, if only he had something a _bit_ more extreme than a spray bottle to protect her from her own self…

* * *

Ryohei isn't quite sure how he ended up as Atsuko's pillow during training.

One moment he was looking over some new proposal of Hayato's - _wow_ , that tournament has an _extreme_ amount of prize money, _how does he even find these things_ \- and the next Atsuko had pulled him down and put her head down in his lap before he could even think to protest.

He doesn't actually mind - he knows she hasn't been sleeping very well lately, which is why he stopped dragging her out for morning jogs and started sleeping over at her place more often (or inviting her to his). She sleeps better with Ryohei around.

( _So does he._ )

"Looks like Atsu and I are out of commission for a while," he says cheerfully, leaning back against the wall. Atsuko twitches, but remains asleep. Honestly, there's a _reason_ why he has to be so loud in the mornings, even though everyone says his cheer is downright monstrous.

"Thank _Kami_ ," Mozumo says, collapsing to the floor. "Bloody slavedriver…"

Rin takes the moment of weakness as a chance to throw a light stress ball at Mozumo's head, much to the other's chagrin. "Oi, stop it with those British dramas - you sound like an idiot."

" _Bloody bastard._ "

"I dunno, I think it's kinda hot," Kamui chimes in, pausing thoughtfully from where he was lifting weights. "Just not on you, Mozu. Ew. Now, _Haya_ on the other hand…"

"Do you _want_ to get your ass kicked, motherfucker?!"

"Language." Ah good old Kazu… it's a wonder that he hasn't given up on that yet. They're _boxers_ , after all.

But then again Kazu always has been a stickler for rules - it's what makes him such a good referee during practice matches.

Hayato shouts back something in Italian that Ryohei is vaguely certain is a string of expletives. Ryohei doesn't bother holding back his laughter at the whole scene. "Y'know, Mozumo, just 'cause I can't get up and make you train doesn't mean that I won't kick your ass later for slacking off."

" _Language!_ "

"But _captain_ ," Mozumo moans pitifully, "- not everyone's a superhuman like you! Come on, look around! Everyone looks dead, even the people who haven't even been doing anything!"

"That's no excuse not to work extremely hard," Ryohei argues. "Come on. You guys only have another half hour, you can do this! I extremely believe in you!"

"Captain," Rin says and Ryohei is fairly certain that he's about to get extremely scolded by a guy who's literally a foot shorter than him. "There is _clearly_ such a thing as _taking a motherfucking break_ -"

"Rin _,_ I swear to _fuck,_ if you people don't control your dirty mouth, we have _fluffs_ in the room half the time -"

"Not right now, hypocrite," Rin retorted, earning a glare from Kazu. "Anyways, as I was _saying_ -"

Rin, it seems, would not be finishing that sentence anytime soon. The doors to the gym swung open and in came the missing members of the club - both official and unofficial.

"I come bearing drinks and cuteness!"

Tsuna sighed, shaking his head fondly as he made his way to the mini-fridge with several bottles of soda. "Yusuke…"

Ryohei had never actually noticed Tsuna before, not really. He was peripherally aware that there was a social outcast in their school, but he didn't exactly have a name nor was this person in his grade. The gravity of such a situation had never actually hit him, not until the Namie Subari incident.

Then, he and Atsuko decided to take a walk. That wasn't very common, since they usually just stuck to their favorite spots after school. He doesn't actually remember why they decided to take that walk, but that doesn't matter.

He saw Sawada Tsunayoshi, bruised and alone and resigned. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, and then he saw alabaster skin, glassy eyes and black clothing.

Ryohei couldn't let that happen again - not when he can finally _see_ it. He realizes that this is probably some sort of misplaced guilt complex, he _does_ read psychology books all the time ( _how can he make sure that nothing's wrong with his loved ones if he doesn't know what to look for?_ ) but that doesn't matter. He is there, and so is Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Atsuko, of course, struggled against Ryohei's decision at first. She didn't like people (which is a lie, Atsuko loves people. Just not most people.) and disliked the idea of adding more to their circle.

However, Atsuko loves Ryohei. Therefore, if something would truly make him happy, such as helping Tsuna, then she would - if a bit grudgingly - go along with it. Hell, she'd even help him.

That's what best friends are extremely for, after all.

And that's exactly what she did. Ryohei, though much better than Atsu at social interactions, didn't actually know what he was doing in that situation.

Atsu did. Ryohei loves Atsuko, really, he does.

In any case, they recruited Tsuna. While yes, Tsuna did spend quite some time breaking their hearts with how obviously insecure and traumatized he is, Ryohei likes to think that he's improved by a lot.

He _is_ Ryohei's extreme little brother, after all.

"You shouldn't take credit for our presence, Yu-chan," Kyoko agrees, plopping down next to Ryohei and taking up the rest of the space in his lap. Atsuko still doesn't stir - how she does it is one of the extremest mysteries he's ever encountered.

Yusuke sniffed. "Excuse you two - if I wasn't here then you guys'd be wandering around lost forever."

Tsuna flushes slightly. "It's not our fault we had to take that detour…"

Ryohei grins, lacing his fingers into Kyoko's hair. "What happened?"

Hayato turns back from where he is putting away drinks while simultaneously arguing with Kamui over something or another. "I did tell you that there would be a long construction detour on the way to that store, Juudaime."

Tsuna moans. "I _know_ , this is the last time I don't listen to every word you say. But in my defense you said it while I was finishing something up for Hibari-san at the time…"

Hayato laughs and Ryohei marvels at how much the younger boy has changed since he joined them a few weeks ago. Atsuko once said that he changes to reflect what Tsuna needs most and what Tsuna needs most is a best friend to love him. Hayato does extremely well, though he _can_ be a bit awkward. "It's not like I say these things to waste your time, but it's fine. I'm here to listen to you, not the other way around."

Tsuna frowns. "Hayato…"

"Actually, speaking of Hibari," Kazu interrupts, walking over to grab a drink from where he had been working with the punching bags. "We _need_ to know. Is he worthy?"

Kyoko instantly perked up. "Oh, yes! We can't continue supporting the royal courtship if he isn't, you know."

Ryohei laughed. "I'd prefer it if Atsuko stayed away from guys, period, but she _does_ have a crush on Hibari, sooo."

Hayato raised an eyebrow. "I thought she hates that bastard, though? Where the hell do you get that from?"

"Haya, Haya, Haya," Kamui says, shaking his head in mock disappointment. " _This_ is why you guys can't keep missing the early morning meetings."

"But they're so... _early_ ," Tsuna protests. "And they're on _Mondays_."

"What's wrong with Monday's?" Ryohei asks, somewhat defensively. He _likes_ Mondays. Starting a week well is always the best way to make sure a week ends well too.

"Everything, you psycho," Mozumo deadpans. "But yeah, generally if you come to early Monday practices you'll get to see Manager-chan half asleep - and a half asleep Manager-chan is a _very_ interesting one."

Rin grins, putting a sweaty arm over Tsuna's shoulders - " _get your disgusting arm off of Juudaime!" -_ and says, " _Interesting_ is an understatement. Her lips are looser when she's sleepy than if she were drunk."

"Tell me about it," Ryohei complains without any real bite. "I extremely did not need to know that pineapples have sexy abs. I didn't even know that fruit can _have_ abs."

"Did you know that someone called Xan-something can _totally_ tie her up with his suit tie?" Kyoko adds, giggling. "Atsu-nee has interesting tastes."

"And the things I've heard about some blonde prince dude…" Yusuke adds, shaking his head. "A sleepy Atsuko is a _very_ pervy Atsuko."

"Um," Tsuna says unsurely. "Are you guys sure we can talk about Atsu-senpai like this?"

"We're sure," Ryohei and Kyoko say in unison.

There are _very_ few secrets in this room and just about everyone has seen Atsuko in this particular state. It's not like she isn't aware of it either, or as if everyone else hasn't been seen in similarly embarrassing states.

Like that one time Rin and Mozumo got drunk off of eggnog (however they actually managed that one) and back when Kazu thought he was going to die after drinking expired milk. Or Yusuke's panic attack over getting a B on a paper for once in his life. And Ryohei's mini mental breakdowns over Kyoko actually _liking_ guys, too. Or Kamui everyday.

"Anyhow, she's also got some pretty dang loose lips over our resident demon prefect," Kazu says, returning them to their original subject. "Like how his eyes are 'of liquid silver', his cheekbones are sharper than some demon's knives, how _interesting_ he'd be in bed…"

Tsuna's cheeks began to glow pink. Atsuko really didn't comprehend a good seventy five percent of what came out of her mouth on Monday mornings before eight a.m., but Ryohei really did need her around on those mornings and it wasn't like they could stop doing Monday mornings - they had to stay ahead of the baseball team _somehow_.

"Tsuna-kun," Kyoko says with authority. "I _have_ to know about the rival Kyo. _Tell us_."

Kyoko can be so passionate, Ryohei thinks fondly. It's probably a family thing.

"Don't just order Juudaime around like that," Hayato hisses. Tsuna sighs fondly. "Hayato, it's fine. Anyways… um… I guess Hibari-san's a responsible person?"

"We already knew that," Ryohei dismisses. All jokes aside, if Atsuko was going to have a love interest then it definitely wasn't going to be one that he didn't truly know. "That's extremely obvious. What else?"

"He's a very fair person too, I think," Tsuna says thoughtfully. "He likes to do everything himself without burdening others, but he's also smart enough to know what he can and can't do. Overall, even though Hibari-san's very scary, I think that he's very honorable and close enough to our standards for Atsu-senpai."

"Hmm…"

Just then, Atsuko's eyes slowly, painfully, opened as though she was a vampire waking up to the morning light. She sat up, holding on to Ryohei's shoulder for support as she looked around before finally locking eyes with Ryohei.

"I hate every last one of you."

"We love you too, Atsu."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **You guys seriously have no idea as to how long I've been waiting to write this chap. Hmmm, I think the next one'll be from Yamamoto's POV. Thoughts?**

 **Til next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

(xi)

(Yamamoto Interlude)

Yamamoto Takeshi isn't an idiot.

He never was, never will be. Sure, he's never been particularly bright when it comes to school stuff, but he certainly knew his way around _people_.

Takeshi knew that no one actually loved him. Sure they love his looks, his charm, his skills, but _him_?

How many people actually remember that Takeshi's favorite color is green, not the blue he so often wears?

What about his favorite food? He loves sushi and all, but really what he likes best is the shrimp yakitori that his father likes to make on Wednesday evenings.

It's easy to pretend that these little things don't hurt. Some people would say that he simply hasn't said these things often enough. The sad part? He has.

Yamamoto Takeshi is not known. He is not loved. He has friends, but not _friends_. He has no flaws, but he _does_.

He wonders what would happen if he pointed out the paradox. Would they all abandon him the moment they saw that the gap between the image and reality?

Takeshi wouldn't blame them.

And that, he guesses, is the problem. He's scared, terrified, of being alone. Of course, that isn't to say that he isn't already alone.

He's just not… alone, _alone_.

And so, he plays baseball and gets failing grades and smiles and laughs every single day as though nothing is wrong - the role of Yamamoto Takeshi.

And then, there is Sawada Tsunayoshi.

They have a strange sort of companionship, you see, him and Sawada. Or at least, Takeshi likes to think so. They were both failing, both tortured by peers, if in different ways.

Takeshi also liked to think that they were friends, if not conventional ones. They didn't talk beyond the standard, casual _hey, can I borrow that pencil_ or _did you catch that due date_ , but that was because Takeshi didn't want to hurt him.

If Takeshi suddenly decided to have a real, genuine friend, as something inside told him Sawada would be, then people would get jealous.

Takeshi can't protect someone forever - he's not that strong, not that brave. They could corner him, hurt him, for being to Takeshi what they cannot be.

Takeshi doesn't think that he can handle that kind of thing on his conscience.

It was better that way, for them to be alone, but alone together. Alone at the same time, the same place? It's hard to explain.

But either way, Takeshi felt a lot less alone when he thought about Sawada. It was good, what they had.

At least, until things changed.

It was sudden, immediate, and it left Takeshi reeling. It just _happened_ one day and he couldn't explain it.

Sawada had friends.

Sawada has _friends._

When the upperclassmen first showed up, asking for "Tsuna", Takeshi assumed they were there to beat him up. It was the most logical conclusion, really. He recognized the two seniors as members of the boxing club - what else could they be there for?

In retrospect, the absence of _dame_ from _Tsuna_ really should have tipped him off. It didn't, but Takeshi never said that he was very good at seeing what he didn't want to see.

When Sawada practically jumped up from his seat, all wide eyes and shocked body language, Takeshi thought that his suspicions were confirmed.

But then one of the seniors threw an arm over Sawada's shoulders and the other ruffled his fluffy hair with all the affection of any doting older brother. Sawada's eyes lit up like the sky on a particularly sunny day and Takeshi didn't quite think that he even noticed the way that he inched towards _Rin-senpai_ and _Kazu-senpai_.

That smile _mystified_ Takeshi. But that wasn't the only thing he felt, unfortunately.

He called them by their first names - they called him by his. He was not _Sawada_ to them, to these people that Takeshi hadn't even known that Sawada ever talked to, he was _Tsuna_.

Takeshi never called anyone by their first name. No one ever called Takeshi _Takeshi_.

And then -

"Come on, chop, chop Tsuna-chan," the blonde one said with a grin. The other nodded in agreement, a small smile - _real, just for Sawada_ \- playing on his lips. "You said you were having trouble with algebra, right? Library time, Assistant-san."

Sawada was having trouble with everything, actually, but that wasn't important here.

Sawada nodded hesitantly, his cheeks a lovely shade of pink - _okay, wow, slow down there Takeshi_ \- and said, "um, yeah, but you guys don't have to help me. I'm kind of a lost cause."

This earned him a swat to the head, a light one, nothing that Takeshi could find any fault with. Kami, he wished he could find a fault with anything. Everything. With _them_. "Don't be a dolt. There's no such thing as a lost cause - just a long journey."

"Kazu's _so_ wise," the blonde piped up again in a singsong. Takeshi felt immensely satisfied by the following, more painful-looking swat. "Asshole. But anyhow -" " _Language!_ " "- you really don't have to worry, Tsuna. If you're struggling then you have to ask for help - that's what friends are for."

 _Friends_.

Sawada looked like he was going to cry. But not the sad kind of crying, the happy kind of crying that Takeshi hasn't felt like doing in years.

Takeshi looked away.

* * *

This couldn't wait any longer, Takeshi decided. He had seen what _real_ friendship had to offer, watching day after day of varying members of the boxing club coming to pick Sawada up, and _kami_ , he wanted it so badly.

He's going to be friends with Sawada Tsunayoshi. He'll defend him from bullies and study with him ( _even though he's kind of awful too_ ) and he'll beat those upperclassmen.

He'll call him _Tsuna_ and be called _Takeshi_ and they're going to laugh and talk and they are going to be _happy._

It would be easy. He would find a time when Sawada was alone and ask him to be his friend. His actual friend, no unspoken, one-sided bond or anything stupid like that.

Takeshi wasn't going to do it when one of Sawada's other friends was around, though. Takeshi had stood by and _let_ Sawada hurt - _why_ would they let him anywhere near Sawada?

At first, Takeshi thought it would be easy. But then, as it turns out, Sawada _did_ have friends in their class. Or at least, he does now.

Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa Hana.

The two most popular girls in the class, perhaps even the entire school. He understood why, of course. They were both very pretty, but more importantly, there was something genuine about them.

They were never, ever fake. Sasagawa never pretended to be anything other than the nice, sweet person she truly was and Kurokawa never pretended that she was the nice person that everyone believed a popular girl should be.

They didn't act, didn't play a role. Not like Takeshi always did.

Of course, the fact that Sawada essentially became the third to their duo shouldn't have been so unexpected. His grades were improving, his speech becoming more confident. He, like them, was so genuine, so sincere, that it almost hurt to watch.

It felt wrong, somehow, approaching and asking to join such a pure group. Almost as though he was tainting them.

But really, Takeshi was never that big on morals anyway. Respect, though, is something that he has in spades. As such, he decides to hold off on his plans to approach Sawada.

Maybe later, once he proves himself properly. Yes, that'll work. There was no way that someone like _Yamamoto_ could possibly fit in with them now.

 _Takeshi_ , on the other hand, just might make the cut - the home run to a real life.

Or not, as Morishiba Atsuko seemed to believe.

To be honest, Takeshi had never paid too much attention to the older girl before. She wasn't popular, though she was, and she never looked quite human. She could be pretty, but she was too busy looking dead for that. The picture perfect zombie - all sickly pale skin and dull brown eyes.

In fact, he never really considered her to be more than half a person. That's what she is, after all - the other half to the ever popular Sasagawa Ryohei, a person that Takeshi rather admired.

When one moved, the other accommodated, shifting to allow for easier access for a hug, perhaps to support. Every glance between them obviously mattered, but not in a romantic sense. They frequented TakeSushi - his father once mistook them for a couple. But, as Takeshi quickly realized, while they may complete each other, it was easy to see that this was as platonic as it got.

They were hardly ever seen apart, Sasagawa-senpai and Morishiba-senpai. Sasagawa-senpai, always bright and shining and overall brilliant, tempered by the plainness of the girl by his side.

So one can only imagine Takeshi's surprise when he saw Morishiba Atsuko, without Sasagawa Ryohei, walking to the offices with _Sawada_.

It was surreal - the idea that Morishiba-senpai could possibly be a separate person from Sasagawa-senpai, because she isn't. And yet, here she was, smiling and laughing and getting sprayed like a misbehaving pet (?) by Sawada.

It seemed everyone was getting ahead of him in the friendship game these days.

Then, they noticed him.

He caught Sawada's eyes. It started out normally, simple eye contact, but then it _changed._ It was strange, consuming, and he didn't understand anything beyond the fact that he liked looking at someone like that.

But Takeshi was never one to let himself focus on any one thing without keeping an eye on the background - that was just an easy way to get a ball to the face.

And so, he also caught Morishiba's look, cold, calculating. She was assessing a threat - him, a threat.

Then, she turned Sawada away.

She _turned him away_.

This person, this person that Sawada clearly looks up to, thinks, _knows_ , that he isn't good enough.

That, that stung. More than it should.

Takeshi remembers a time when Morishiba Atsuko was alive, after all. He remembers being four and her being five, he remembers visiting the only funeral home in town to see his mother's body. He remembers a little girl sitting in the waiting room with him, smiling and saying _it'll be okay, I promise! It's not the end._

Her eyes had been less barky and more chocolate at the time, he remembers. They were warm, warm like the way they were for Sasagawa Ryohei - for him, that time. Takeshi never forgets such real gestures - he only ever gets them from his dad nowadays, after all.

He had liked her for a while, the girl who made him feel a little better all those years ago. He got over it - it would be creepy if he didn't, he was _four_ \- but nonetheless, this is not the rejection that he had ever expected from Morishiba Atsuko.

And then they just continued on their merry way, as though nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Takeshi _hates_ Mochida Kensuke. He hates him.

After all, sport, sport is about honor. Takeshi knows that he has no real honor of his own, except in sport. Sport is everything - it is the very core of the persona known as _Yamamoto Takeshi_.

Takeshi thought that Mochida was like him, once. Kinda awful as a person, but a good sportsman. Someone with pride and dignity, even in the absence of humanity.

He was wrong.

After all, no one with any real honor would ever challenge _Sawada_ to a duel. Never, ever.

And yet, there he is, in the gym, facing small, frail, unarmed and unarmored Sawada.

Takeshi almost can't bear to watch.

He should intervene, he knows. But he can't - if he does, then he can only imagine the fallout. The school's general populace would be divided, between him and Mochida, two popular fixtures within their world.

Then, of course, they wouldn't actually think to blame Mochida - the instigator. No, no, they liked having their scapegoats. During gym, when teams lost, they blamed Sawada. Not because Sawada did anything to actually _contribute_ to the loss, nothing that couldn't have been overcome, anyway, but because it was better than blaming, say, _Yamamoto_.

One time, Takeshi decided to play at being a scientist and conducted an experiment. In this experiment, in which Sawada was _not_ on his team, Takeshi purposely sabotaged the team that had the misfortune of being assigned to him.

Then, he waited. He was pretty obvious about the sabotage, made one too many mistakes and didn't even bother trying to play them off. They _had_ to notice.

And surely enough, they did. Except, Takeshi, of whom was obviously the perpetrator, was not at fault. Oh no, it was the coach, of whom had distracted Takeshi earlier.

Ha ha.

Blind sheep scurrying around for another farm animal to blame, indeed - _oh dear Kami_ he's starting to sound like Hibari-senpai.

Bad Takeshi. No more science for you.

Anyways, the results of his little experiment only served to solidify what he had already concluded - anything Takeshi did now would just make things worse for Sawada. Hurt Sawada.

He didn't want to hurt Sawada.

But he couldn't just stand there and _let_ Sawada be hurt anymore either. No, he was done with that.

No more second thoughts - Takeshi finally acts.

* * *

Sawada wins, Mochida loses. Takeshi knows that he did _something_ , he was the one who spurred Mochida to lose his cool and make enough mistakes to actually fail.

Even if Sawada hadn't shown some sort of crazy, hidden potential, he would have won anyways.

That was enough, right? Right.

He could do this now, he thought. Today is the day. Today is the day that he will finally become friends with Sawada.

Then, Gokudera Hayato happens.

When the foreigner arrived the day prior, Takeshi hadn't been too concerned. Sure, the guy was ridiculously attractive - a near-perfect blend of European and Japanese features combined with an unusual hair color and pretty eyes. And yes, it only took about five minutes for everyone to realize that he's a complete and total genius.

But that didn't matter, not really. After all, it was only too easy for Takeshi to read this guy like a book - everyone was. People-watching was something that he'd perfected as a child, telling his father all about what he saw in people when he was bored and consuming his father's every word of explanation as though he was dying of thirst and they were the only drops of water left in existence.

First, there was his body language. Gokudera was tense, guarded, antagonistic. Takeshi would guess that he was either afraid of interacting with people, or hurt enough to hate everything. Both, probably.

His chin was held high, and yet he seemed to take up as little space as possible when he actually sat down. Takeshi wondered what that said about his self confidence.

Adding to the fact that the guy seemed to be pretty antagonistic against Sawada for whatever reason, Takeshi was convinced.

This guy was nothing but a common bully - someone who hurt others, Sawada, for no reason other than to lash out to cover his own insecurities.

In other words, he wasn't a threat at all.

But then Takeshi loses track of Sawada after school. He figures it's fine, he's not perfect. This can wait.

The next day comes.

Takeshi's smile turns to ice. After all, it's hard to smile when the very place that he coveted has been stolen away by the one person he had decided to write off so quickly.

That's Takeshi's luck, apparently, for Gokudera Hayato is none other than Sawada's best friend.

He hadn't seen it before but now that it's right before his eyes, the loyal, loving way that Gokudera looks at Sawada and the fond exasperation that the latter treats him with, the subtle wonder in those warm brown eyes as he looks at the boy who treats him like some sort of king, it's impossible to ignore.

"Don't worry," Sawada reassures, not to Takeshi ( _his heart hurts_ ), his voice so soft and soothing. "They'll like you, Gokudera-kun. Besides, didn't you say that you prepared for this?"

"I'm not worried," Gokudera responded, pale cheeks dusted pink. _Liar_. "It's just… they're important to you." He backtracked. "Not that I would back down just because they don't like me," he says quickly, "- but it would be less annoying if I didn't have to fight with them."

The Boxing Club. Sawada's going to introduce Gokudera to the Boxing Club.

Takeshi didn't know how to feel about that.

Every time he wanted to do something, to say something, someone else would do something first, befriend him first.

Sure, Takeshi knew that it probably sounded as if he was whining. He probably is. But really, he was just so, _so_ frustrated. Even Gokudera would probably be better at this whole _friend_ thing than he was, if their conversation was anything to go by.

Why bother when it was obvious that he wasn't good enough to try at all?

Takeshi wasn't really good at much anyways, anything that doesn't involve sports, that is. Why would this be any different?

He slumped down in his seat, defeated, letting go of the mask for just a moment. One of his watchers immediately noticed the stark difference.

"Yamamoto? You okay, dude?"

Right. People were watching him, always. _Just watching_ , Takeshi thinks bitterly. _Always_.

Takeshi straightens up, paints a smile onto his face again. "Yeah, I'm fine, haha. I stayed up too late playing that new game - you know how it is."

The watcher laughs along with him, believing the lie without question. Takeshi tried to ignore the disgust bubbling in his chest.

It's time for a new inning, it seems.

* * *

Takeshi is useless. So, so fucking useless.

After all, what's the point of a _Yamamoto Takeshi_ that can't play sports? That can't get up to bat or pitch?

Fucking idiot. How could he be so _stupid_? Putting his actual emotions into practice, going hard enough to actually _break his own arm_.

He's useless now. He can't play, he can barely write (it wasn't his dominant hand, but his writing was already enough of a mess without using his other hand for balance), he can't get anything higher than a C in class if he's lucky!

Now, he knew, he is truly alone. There is nothing left to admire him for, nothing left to talk to him about.

All he has now is worthless, worthless pity and a dull, throbbing pain in his arm, a constant reminder of the stark reality that he has now found himself in.

What was there left to live for?

Nothing, really. Takeshi wasn't a very good son, always disappointing his father with his grades and bringing home fake friends as though he was incapable of forming true bonds.

He probably was.

His father would be better off without him, really. Takeshi was just a burden like this - he can't help around the restaurant, can't make his father proud.

He didn't have much of a future either - he would be out of commission for a long time, after all, and that means forfeiting his baseball scholarship.

Forfeiting his scholarship meant that he wouldn't be able to get into a notable sporting school that he wanted to go to. Not getting into _that_ school meant that there was no way that he'd be noticed by colleges for his ability - if it even remained after this mess.

Boom. There went his success.

The teacher droned on and on. Algebra. Takeshi couldn't actually understand any of it, the buzzing in his ear. All he could hear was the mocking.

Their lips weren't moving, none of them were, but Takeshi could _hear_ them.

 _Oh poor, poor Yamamoto._

 _What about the baseball team? Such an inconvenience!_

 _Why did we like him again? He's just so… useless._

 _Useless._

 _Useless._

 _ **Useless**_.

Quiet, quiet, oh kami, he wanted quiet, _please_. Why won't they shut up? Kami, please, they needed to shut up. He knows, he knows.

The bell rang. The sound pierced his ears, hurt his mind. Please, please, he needed quiet.

Ignoring the protests of his "friends", Takeshi got up, went towards the roof.

No one followed. Good. ( _It hurts, it hurts._ ) It was quiet on the roof. It was always quiet on the roof.

Takeshi looked down, down from the roof. It was so high, like the sky. Maybe if he jumped, he could fly. Maybe, maybe he could be free.

If he was free, then he wouldn't have to worry about trying to make friends, about being useful or good at anything. He wouldn't have to worry about sports or scholarships.

He would just be _free._

Yes, _freedom_. Oh, it sounded so good.

Wordlessly, he climbed over the fence. It hurt his arm, it hurt so bad, so bad. But that was okay, it didn't have to hurt anymore. He would be _free._

People were noticing, shouting from windows. Could they just be quiet, please? His head hurt.

Oh, but they sounded worried. They weren't really worried, not about Takeshi, but about _Yamamoto_. _Yamamoto_ doesn't actually exist, so it doesn't actually matter.

They'll get over it.

Haha, they're so insistent. _Yamamoto, Yamamoto, please, don't!_

Takeshi sighed. They really ought to know that calling a name wouldn't magically poof a person into existence, it was common sense. But they sounded so… _sad_.

Okay, fine, he was such a bleeding heart. They wanted one final show? Sure, okay, they can have it. One last glimpse at _Yamamoto_.

Takeshi put on the mask, a smile. "Sorry everyone!" he called out. "The baseball gods and I are having a bit of an argument right now," _forsaken_ " - so I'm going to go ahead and, ah, sort it out."

His laugh rang empty in the air.

" _Yamamoto-san!_ "

… Sawada?

"Takeshi," he corrected, his mouth opening on its own. "I'm Takeshi."

If he was going to die, then it would be nice if that little delusion of his, of _Tsuna and Takeshi_ , could be humored just a bit. He had liked that dream.

Sawada looked surprised, hands clasping the fence and his shirt as though he couldn't bare to let go. As though he was _precious_ , but that didn't make sense. Takeshi isn't precious.

"Takeshi," Sawada repeated, almost reverently, as though the name was a lifeline. Takeshi couldn't tell whose. "Your life is worth so much more than _baseball_! So much more. You can't just end it over something so _stupid_."

Takeshi's heart plummeted. He didn't _understand_. "Baseball is all that matters to me," he says, empty again.

Sawada's eyes widened further, if it were possible. "But your friends -"

"I don't _have_ friends," Takeshi snapped before he could stop himself. "I don't have friends. I've never had friends! They - they, they weren't r- _real_." He's crying now. Why is he crying?

"That doesn't matter, Takeshi! There's always a way to make real friends, even if it seems hopeless! _I'll_ be your friend!"

 _Oh, oh._ Sawada, his friend? That sounded good. So good. Oh, Kami. " _Please_ ," he whimpers, pathetic.

But really, it wasn't meant to be. After all, one doesn't just hold onto a grating with one hand and expect to not fall.

Takeshi slips in his shock and falls, falls, instead of being there with Sawada, where he was supposed to belong.

Vaguely, he hears Sawada shouting something. _SAVE TAKESHI WITH MY DYING WILL!_

Huh. Looks like he really has lost it.

Except he hasn't, because then he's falling with Sawada and Sawada's _there_ and he's in _Sawada's arms_ and then they're okay and on the ground and -

"It's Tsuna, not Sawada," Tsuna says, fondly, relieved. Takeshi _smiles_ and then it all goes dark.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Surprisingly enough, college applications and AP courses have not actually killed me, only my drive to finish the various chapters that I started. Ah wells.**

 **I am so, so sorry that this took so long. Now that my exams are almost over, I should be able to update more regularly now.**

 **This chapter is actually dedicated to the lovely OperaEagle IcelynLacelett, who was largely responsible for giving me the motivation to finally finish this chapter. Thanks again!**

 **It's been a while since I've written anything, as well as my first really serious attempt at writing Takeshi, so please, be sure to drop a review and tell me how I did.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Ciao~**


	12. Chapter 12

(xii)

Atsuko sighed in frustration, biting down on the eraser of her pencil.

 _Canon_.

From the looks of it, they were going by the manga timeline, not the anime - as the anime had decided to disclude the topic of Yamamoto's - _Takeshi, he asked us to call him Takeshi_ \- suicide attempt.

It made sense, really. Atsuko vaguely recalls the anime essentially glossing over Yamamoto's recruitment and entirely ignoring the existence of two whole arcs. The manga had felt so much more real. It is real.

Thankfully, most of the fanfiction that she remembered worked off of the manga plot line. There were many common points in each work - _Kokuyo, Ring Battles, Ten Years Later, the Shimon, the Arcobaleno battles._

Atsuko wrote them all down, creating a rough, makeshift timeline.

Before anything too drastic, the Daily Life Arc started the plot off, she thinks. She doesn't know. She writes it at the top, anyways.

Who was introduced first? Tsuna, then Reborn. It's always them. But who else? Kyoko, Ryohei? Atsuko thinks she remembers his highness showing up to terrorize his subjects, the sadist, but she might be thinking of the wrong episode. She remembered the anime best.

Hayato was in the second episode, definitely. Then came Yamamoto. In the space next to _Daily Life Arc_ she writes down the names in order, putting question marks next to the ones she wasn't sure about.

She knew Bianchi wasn't around yet, and she's pretty sure Dino Cavallone ( _oh Kami, another mafia boss_ ) hadn't come marching in yet either. She doesn't know about Lambo - _when does I-Pin show up_? - or Fuuta either. She can't ask, but she needs to know.

She needs to know how long she has to figure out a way to keep Ryohei safe from Mukuro's cronies.

After all, the fact that an actual serial killer's henchmen left Ryohei alive is probably just dumb luck, unless Mukuro had ordered them not to kill anyone.

That… might be possible. After all, Mukuro's vendetta only really applied to mafiosos and if it wasn't actually confirmed that someone was _in_ the mafia, then perhaps he might spare them.

But then again, the guy doesn't actually seem like the type for mercy and Atsuko distinctly recalls some of his other henchmen attacking Kyoko and that Haru chick - another player whose position Atsuko was yet unsure about.

However, she also recalls that those two were under the control of another, creepier serial killer that was just along to be used and disposed of as necessary, so that may not have actually been Mukuro's will.

Or it was, because any person who could have killed that many people as a nine year old has got to be seriously unhinged.

Suddenly, her whole _make friends with pineapple-boy_ plan seems a lot stupider and a lot less feasible.

Oh well.

But really, as of this moment, Mukuro is the most powerful player in this fucked up life that Atsuko found herself in, aside from _maybe_ Hibari (and even then, they're both powerful in completely different ways and right now? Mukuro's power is much more useful).

There's also Reborn, but Atsuko's fairly certain that he won't interfere unless Tsuna's absolutely not going to make it out of the fight alive. The man may be the most powerful Sun Flame user in the world, but he has a job to do and beyond that he probably couldn't give any less of a shit about what happened to everyone else.

Conversely, if she can convince Mukuro that their goals align, or perhaps put him into a situation where he's indebted to herself or Tsuna, then there's a good chance that he could be _very_ helpful in her end goal.

Keeping the people she loves alive.

It doesn't actually matter if she survives this whole mess, if she can make it through the whole plot line. What matters is that people like Ryohei, Kyoko, the club members, Tsuna and Hayato make it out alive.

Atsuko already died once. She can die again - she is living on borrowed time anyways. Them? They, on the other hand, are beautiful and filled with life and _fuck_ , she loves too easily, these people that consider her to be their friend, family.

She loves them too much to give them up to death. Herself? Not so much. There is nothing that is not worth sacrificing for their lives.

Her life, her knowledge, is nothing more than a tool to be used for the sake of preserving theirs.

She is theirs.

Furthermore, it's not like Atsuko can truly _live_ without them, without these people. They are the reason why she gets up in the morning, why she opens her eyes and takes deep breaths even when something in her mind is whispering that she shouldn't be breathing at all.

Hell, she's pretty damn sure that the first time she smiled after the memories finished settling in - much to her parents' concern - was when Ryohei had pinched her cheeks and pulled them up into a smile because he had been _extremely curious about what your smile looks like_ a few weeks into their friendship. She had been so caught off guard by the gesture that she had burst into laughter and for the first time in this life, couldn't stop laughing for a good ten minutes.

 _He_ created her smile. Her happiness.

Oh, god, how she loves Ryohei.

But that is besides the point. To be frank, Atsuko already knows that she can't manipulate Mukuro, in spite of the necessity of such an action. She's terrible at people - _Ryohei_ is the one who can do people. He has a blinding smile and effortless compassion, infectious energy and just the right amount of charisma.

If he wanted to, he could probably have the whole school, hell, even the world, down at his fingertips with that smile.

So instead, Atsuko will rely on all that she has - honesty and information. Maybe, just maybe, if she can make a connection with him…

Well, he was the one to save Chrome, after all. He can't possibly be _that_ bad if he saved her, took her in and taught her.

Probably.

* * *

The clothes that Nagi had chosen for her father's viewing were quite nice, Atsuko decided as she moved the chosen articles to their designated room for the mortician to deal with later.

It was a plain, business-casual type of ensemble - nothing too fancy, but nonetheless something suitably appropriate for a funeral of the expenses paid by Nagi's family.

Atsuko had recently had the displeasure of meeting the woman, Takeba Rika, of whom somehow managed to produce Nagi, of all the sweet fluffs.

 _Somehow_.

Atsuko found that she quite liked speaking to Nagi, who had an aversion to being referred to by her last name. Atsuko could understand why.

Atsuko had always wondered about why exactly the woman was paying so much for the funeral of a former lover when she couldn't even be bothered to treat the daughter that she had produced with him with basic human decency, but then she had the utter _joy_ of listening to the woman go on about how her "beloved butler" deserved nothing but the best of services.

God, how this gaudy woman made her sick. And the way that Nagi had shrunk back every time that the woman directed a smugly dismissive sound in her direction?

The emptiness of those brilliant amethyst eyes in the face of this disgrace to the human race?

Fuck, Atsuko almost wants to kill the woman for her pretentiousness. Maybe then, when the woman is in hell or whatever terrible second life she gets shut into, Nagi would finally smile.

When she was alone, Nagi was usually fairly put together, aside from vague hints in her eyes and body language that something wasn't quite right about her, but in the presence of this monster?

God, she looked broken. So broken. Like an empty porcelain doll, with cracks in the surface of that flawless and delicate beauty, worn edges to otherwise exquisitely crafted clothes.

Atsuko knows that she should probably stop collecting people. She loves too many people and she wants and needs to protect all of them so bad, so she shouldn't get anymore, she _shouldn't,_ but -

"Do you prefer tea or coffee, Nagi-san?" Atsuko asks as she returns to the reception room, internally hitting herself over and over again with her newfound affection for the future Chrome Dokuro.

Nagi's eyes widen in surprise for a moment at the question, taken aback. "Um… coffee, I suppose? With sugar and whipped cream…?"

Atsuko nods to herself. Yes, that makes sense. Sweet and soft in the beginning, accompanied by a strong aftertaste. It fits. "I see. My lunch break starts in a few minutes, so I was wondering if you would like to accompany me, Nagi-san?"

"Ah…there isn't anything else on my agenda today," the younger girl admitted, her cheeks flushing a light pink. Truly, Atsuko thinks, it must take a hardened villain to ever be cruel to such an adorable creature.

It's like being mean to Kyoko, just somehow _less_ advisable, as Nagi will likely be able to bring the offender to their knees with just a snap of her fingers in the foreseeable future.

"... may I ask why?" she asked shyly. Atsuko sighed, fixing the girl with a stern stare. "You don't need to ask permission to ask a question, Nagi-san. We're peers - it's utterly unnecessary. As for why… well, I've been in need of more female friends. My life's just a huge sausage fest these days, really."

Nagi's cheeks darkened at Atsuko's use of such vulgar language and Atsuko had to bite back a chuckle. _So cute._ "I see… um, I will remember that."

"Good. Are you in, then?"

Nagi bit her cheek slightly, then nodded. "I've never really gone out with a friend before," she admitted, before catching herself. "Um, that is, if that's what we are -"

"No," Atsuko interrupted her. "You've got it right. We're friends."

"Ah… okay. Good."

Where was Ryohei and his camera when she needed them, really? Honestly, the bastard was always there to take embarrassing pictures of her (not that he would actually do anything with them, of course - they just made for vaguely entertaining empty threats that made Atsuko wish for the sweet, sweet embrace of death) except for when she actually _wanted_ him there.

"In that case, just sit back and relax for a few minutes. I need to finish some paperwork before we can go."

It's just too bad that Nana's bakery-cafe isn't open on the weekends. Atsuko is sure that Nagi would have loved it, as it is her go-to for hot food on sick days, but ah well, it can't be helped.

Instead, Atsuko leads the younger girl to a smaller cafe in the shopping district - not too popular, but Atsuko happens to like their cinnamon buns quite a bit. Kyoko favors their chocolate cake.

"So," Atsuko began as they sat down with their orders. "What would you like to talk about?"

"I-I'm not quite sure," Nagi admitted shyly. "This is all very new to me. What do girls normally speak about when they meet like this?"

"Um…" Honestly, how the hell was Atsuko supposed to know? It wasn't like she had very much experience with this either - her life _is_ a veritable sausage-fest and she wasn't sure if the conversations between sisters in all but blood consisted of the same topics as those with regular female friends.

Well, she did have a few conversations with Kurokawa every now and then… "Boys?"

"I see… no offense, Atsuko-san, but I wouldn't have taken you for the type to bring up such a topic."

"None taken. Honestly, I just said the first thing to come to mind - I really don't know what I'm doing here either," Atsuko admitted freely, shrugging with a slightly embarrassed smile.

Nagi's lips quirked up into a small smile. "Ah… perhaps we could speak about other people in general…?"

"Gossip?" Atsuko teased, leaning forward. "I never would have taken you for the type, Nagi-san."

"I'm not," Nagi said, her pale cheeks turning to a lovely shade of light pink. "But… I'm curious. About your other friends. You… you talk about them, sometimes."

That's true enough, Atsuko supposes. Her friends are often a go-to topic on the rare occasions when she's speaking to someone she genuinely likes outside of the group. They're just… her everything. Sure, she can talk about shows and books and other things that she appreciates, but…

"Sure," Atsuko agrees easily. "What would you like to know?"

"Um," Nagi says, biting her lip thoughtfully, "- what is it like, being a part of something like that?"

A loaded question, Atsuko thinks. But not a bad one, or one that is particularly hard to answer. "It's pretty annoying," she answers, taking a sip of her cappuccino. "They have _way_ too much material to tease me with. And they get hurt often too, what with boxing being a combat sport and all. There's also the fact that I can't even remember the last time that I got to sleep in…"

Atsuko paused, feeling her lips twist into a grin without her permission. "But I've also never felt lonely with them around - even if they are all a bunch of over dramatic idiots. I can be quiet and not feel discluded, I can say whatever I'd like and not feel as if it's out of place. It's a good feeling. I'd even go as far as to say that it's worth dealing with His Majesty all the time."

Nagi was practically drinking in Atsuko's words, as if just by listening she could feel all of these things for herself. "... His Majesty?"

Atsuko nodded gravely. "His Royal Highness, King of Namimori, Hibari Kyoya. God, that man is so awful. The absolute bane of my existence."

The younger girl tilted her head slightly, curious. "You seem to feel very strongly about this person…"

"No I don't," Atsuko denied vehemently. "That man is utterly terrifying. And he knows it, the evil dictator that he is. I don't want to be anywhere near him, ever, but _no_ someone insists on meeting with club representatives every month and approving _any_ changes himself. So I have to _report_ to that sick bastard, who could totally kill me whenever he'd like, which would be fine if that wasn't such a damn _painful_ sounding death, while he just sits there watching, all stupidly pretty - like I'm some sort of cute little _sideshow_ -"

And really, wasn't that ridiculous? While she was _perfectly_ happy remaining an herbivore in Hibari's eyes, god that man is terrifying, there is a part of her that wanted to kick him off his high horse - the part of her that's sick of having to beg a high schooler for budget approvals, of having to perform to some asshole's expectations on top of their own.

Nagi nodded along in small, soft movements where necessary and Atsuko found that she couldn't quite read the younger girl's expression. "Pardon the interruption," she said - _is that amusement?_ " - but I was wondering about when the first date will be taking place?"

"What."

Nagi took a sip of her drink, her perfect posture the epitome of obliviousness to Atsuko's utter and complete shock. "The first date, Atsuko-san. That is what people do when they feel so passionately for each other, I believe?"

Atsuko stared at the other girl in horror. _No, no, no…_ "You're not…"

"I'm not what, Atsuko-san?" Nagi asked, blinking her terribly innocent-looking ( _not_ ) eyes.

" _No_."

"Please be more specific, Atsuko-san," she said and oh, Atsuko knows _that_ glint in her eye.

Atsuko buried her head in her hands and let out a silent scream and prayer for death and pretended that she didn't love the tinkling bell of Nagi's laughter with all of the soul left in her.

* * *

"I can't believe you actually did it," Atsuko said, quite frankly awed. Ryohei hummed thoughtfully beside her, regarding Takeshi with a sympathetic gaze. "Are you sure this is what you want to do, Takeshi? This is an extremely big decision to make."

Everyone know how much Yamamoto Takeshi loved baseball, after all. The passion he put into it, his devotion to baseball practices and to the wellbeing of the club.

"I'm sure," Takeshi said, his functional arm slung around Tsuna's shoulders, much to Hayato's chagrin. "Baseball's great and all," he said, casually, too casually, "- but I think I'm ready to move on. I'm not really much use right now, but I'd really like to join the boxing club!"

Ryohei and Atsuko hadn't really known what to expect when Tsuna had texted them, asking them to meet him, Hayato and Takeshi at Takesushi. Takeshi had formally introduced himself to the boxing club a week prior, declaring himself to be something of an unofficial cheerleader.

After all, it wasn't realistic to be able to be in two sports clubs at the same time, given practice schedules and physical limitations. No one expected him to be able to join the boxing club, or rather, to choose another club over the one that he had poured his blood, sweat and tears into.

But then again, no one really knew what to expect from Yamamoto Takeshi anymore, these days. Not after the arguably happiest kid in the entire school decided to try and kill himself.

So perhaps it wasn't all that unexpected that he would quit the baseball club. And really, he just looked so _happy_ joking around with everyone at the boxing club, being introduced as Tsuna's friend, bantering with Hayato. He fit, really - Atsuko would be a fool to deny it.

"I think it's a great idea, Takeshi," Tsuna reassured the taller boy. "Even if you can't box right now, you're a really great cheerleader!"

Atsuko and Ryohei exchanged a look. Tsuna wasn't wrong - Takeshi _had_ been the one to get the crowd roaring in Tsuna's favor during that fight with Mochida.

"Haha, you think so?" Takeshi asked, rubbing the back of his neck, as if he wasn't quite sure how to respond. Hayato snorted. "Just take Juudaime's praise, idiot."

"I mean," Takeshi trailed off, ignoring Hayato's comment, "- I don't know if boxing's really my thing, but…"

"Oh, stop it," Atsuko cut in sharply. Takeshi's gaze immediately captured her own, assessing her. Atsuko supposes she hadn't made the best impression before, that one time when she had been with Tsuna. "You don't need to actually box to be part of the boxing club," she continued and his eyes widened just a tad, but his form relaxed at her words. "Cheerleaders are always good."

Functionally useless, sure, but good.

"Atsu's extremely right," Ryohei agreed. "Boxing with us is great, but if you just want to help out around the club then that's extremely fine too. The more the merrier, right everyone?"

Tsuna nodded enthusiastically and Atsuko took a moment to be awed by how far he's come in just a few months. Sure, he still hasn't shaken off his characteristic anxiety, nor does he go around making friends with everyone he sees, but Tsuna's confidence really has bloomed. "See, Takeshi? I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Mm, yeah. Sorry for doubting you like that, Tsuna."

Atsuko wonders about how differently the suicide attempt went from canon. If there had been some kind of change. She couldn't recall Takeshi ever acting so...wary, in the anime. But then again, she didn't recall all _that_ much about Takeshi, except that he's going to be Tsuna's pet assassin at one point or another.

Yeah, she probably shouldn't be trying to predict anything about him - not when it was still pretty possible that this kid could just turn around and kill her for being a nuisance to Tsuna or something.

Atsuko never really got the impression that Takeshi was actually all that much better than Hayato in how far he would go for Tsuna's sake, after all.

Maybe it was better that Takeshi be a part of the boxing club. It would go pretty far in ensuring that he's loyal to more than just Tsuna, which could only be a good thing at this point in time.

Lost in her musings, Atsuko barely registered the renewal of Hayato and Takeshi's banter until Ryohei softly elbowed her side. She looked up at him, taking in his curious expression. She shook her head slightly. "Just thinking."

Ryohei frowned thoughtfully. "Do I need to get out the spray bottle? I'm extremely not sure if I liked that expression on your face."

" _No_ ," Atsuko hissed. Excuse him. She is trying to plot here. For his sake. Because _someone_ loves Tsuna too much to not be part of the mafia. And because they seem to be collecting dangerous people like some kind of weird boxing orphanage these days.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

" _Extremely_ sure?"

"Oh my god, yes, _dying_ would be better than getting sprayed by that damn - _Ryohei!"_

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hey everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm a very, very busy university student as it turns out and worse yet, I actually have a social life. So, unfortunately, fanfiction has taken a bit of a backseat in that regard, though I am giving my Naruto fic (which you should all totally check out, hint hint) my full attention. But the good news is that this isn't abandoned, and niether are my other KHR fics, though I may or may not be not updating Clouds in the Sky out of spite for all of the "please update" reviews I've been getting for it - I lost inspiration for it for a reason and even if I do feel that I'm in a better place to be writing for it now, I don't like being rushed like that, sooo...**

 **Anyways, please tell me what you guys think about this chapter!**

 **See y'all next time~**


	13. Chapter 13

_(_ _xiii_ _)_

Atsuko isn't omniscient.

Oh, she wishes she were, certainly. But blurry knowledge of the future doesn't make her some kind of prophet, nor does it suddenly give her the ability to be present at every life-altering event of Tsuna's.

Months had passed. Takeshi had become a constant presence in their lives, having even purchased his own Namimori-themed cheerleading outfit, painting those dreadful Monday morning practices with his contagious laughter and uplifting attitude.

His smile was starting to become more genuine. That was good. It was always good, after all, to have a little bit more of an assurance that you aren't going to be ruthlessly murdered in your sleep by your baby brother's pet assassin anytime soon, you know.

And there was Nagi, Nagi who liked murder mystery novels, Nagi who thought that horror movies had the same comedic value as one of John Mulaney's shows.

She grew more and more confident by the day, Atsuko thought. Her introduction to Atsuko's sunshine boy had gone swimmingly.

There were changes afoot, Atsuko knew, and she had thought that to be enough. More than enough.

But when it all came down to it, the truth of the matter is that she isn't a character of Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Morishiba Atsuko is her own person, with a family business to help run, boxing practices to attend (with more of an obligation than say, KHR's demented version of the Golden Trio, at least). She studied her ass off to maintain her class rankings.

She spent every second she could with Sasagawa Ryohei, but let's face it. Ryohei wasn't a main character. Ryohei wasn't there for every single important event.

Atsuko never met Lambo, or Fuuta and I-Pin. She didn't know that Bianchi was in town and if it had been mentioned, then she hadn't heard.

She hadn't been aware of the fact that Dino must have visited.

All of these events, all of these markers that she had tried to be so meticulous about, had flown on by her.

And now, here she was, sitting in a cold, bleak and white hospital room. She doesn't feel very attached to her body, at the moment. She sees what is in front of her and it is almost as if the chair under her isn't there, as if she is observing a scene she was never meant to be a part of.

Ryohei looks so delicate, unconscious. His brilliant, warm silver eyes are closed, his often upturned lips settled into a grim line.

It was wrong. All wrong. Even when Ryohei slept, he had always been so warm. So full of energy, as if he could jump right up with a moment's notice.

But now, here, in this lifeless room, lying on that bed so still, so quiet, with those damned white sheets and—

He looked like her.

Kyoko wasn't crying across from her. Her fingers shook as she played idly with the sheets of Ryohei's not-deathbed, her teeth scraping against her perfectly plump lips until they bled.

"Kyoko," Atsuko felt the name escape her body's mouth. Slowly, as if she were possessed, Kyoko lifted her head up to listen to her Atsu-nee. There was an arm over her shoulder, Miura Haru. The girl was trying to reassure her, but the words were too loud and too high-pitched to Atsuko's ears.

It should be noted that Atsuko despises Miura.

Well, no, actually. _Despises_ is too strong of a word for what Atsuko feels for Miura, which isn't very much. _Somewhat actively dislikes_ is better, she supposes.

While Atsuko had initially been wary of the girl due to her barely-existent memories of her, she had quickly determined that the girl was useless. A damsel in distress. Loud and cheerful and oblivious, fixated upon Tsuna.

Fuck, she was so goddamn annoying.

They had found out about Ryohei's state early in the morning. "Your meds," Atsuko pointed out. She hadn't had time to take them yet. That was bad, Kyoko's unmedicated anxiety attacks were _bad_.

Kyoko nodded, dazed. Mechanically, she rifled through her bag, but the bottle kept slipping through her fingers. Hana, who had just returned from getting everyone water, immediately, though not unkindly, snatched the bag from Kyoko's quivering hands and obtained the desired bottle. With practiced ease, the girl obtained the correct dosage and held it out for Kyoko to take. Kyoko nodded gratefully and reached for a cup of water, only for Hana to take it first and raise it to Kyoko's lips.

"Thank you," Atsuko said quietly, her eyes once again fixated on making sure that Ryohei's chest was still rising. Her heart skipped a beat every time it fell.

Hana rolled her eyes. "Don't thank me for this," she said and Atsuko understood that kind of loyalty.

Ryohei really ought to marry her, it would be a terrible waste if he didn't.

Ryohei, Ryohei. Her previous, beautiful sunshine Ryohei. His hand was too cold against Atsuko's skin. He was supposed to be so warm that it almost burned, that it made her cold, dead flesh almost feel as though it were alive.

She should have warned him. Told him that he would get ambushed by such powerful opponents. Or maybe she should have been on that run, instead of electing to sleep in because of her stuffy nose.

Maybe, maybe she could have convinced him to run. Maybe she could have kept him safe.

She had known that the Kokuyo arc had been coming, after all. Wasn't that supposed to have been enough? Wasn't that all that those people in the stories, those who had been in her shoes, had needed to save the people that they loved? To change the story to fit their whims?

It wasn't for her.

The doctor had said that Ryohei would be fine. No brain damage or anything, just a bad hit to the head and a few broken bones. He should be awake in a few hours time.

Atsuko would believe it when she saw it.

Part of her wanted to hate Mukuro. To tear him to pieces for what he had ordered to be done to the other half of her soul.

Another part, however, understood that such hate would be pointless. Mukuro is a sad, broken and lonely being—and more importantly, a useful one. Hating him was counterproductive.

And besides, he would probably soon grow to care for Nagi.

How can anyone hate a man that can find it within himself to care for Nagi, of all the exquisite creatures?

Atsuko looked at Ryohei's pale, tanned face once more and felt something stab her, deep within her soul. She could have prevented this, if she wasn't so useless. If she could have brought herself to learn how to fight.

This is it. She's done, oh fuck, she's so done with herself and her unnatural fears.

Atsuko rises up, reluctantly letting go of her everything's calloused hand. "I need some air," she says. Kyoko nods, still dazedly staring at her brother's still expression. Miura looked at her in surprise, but says nothing as Hana informs her that she'll keep an eye on things for now.

Atsuko squashes down the swell of affection she feels for the girl. There isn't any time for that.

Glancing once more at Ryohei's prone body, Atsuko steels herself and leaves the room.

It's time to finally do something.

* * *

Kokuyo Land isn't too far away, as it turns out. A bus ride and a short walk away.

Tsuna had mentioned during his visit to the white room that a family member of his had gone missing. Fuuta, she presumed.

This was a dangerous situation, she mused. She had brought a particularly sharp steak knife with her, but she didn't really know how to use it all that well.

Everyone in this universe had Flames, Atsuko remembers. You don't need to be aware of your Flame type to activate yours, but she does recall that a certain level of willfulness needed to be demonstrated in order to make use of them.

She could rely on those, she supposes. Awareness of their existence ought to make it easier to activate them, but the only examples she recalls of this come from the Vongola Tenth Generation, of whom are all noted to be ridiculously powerful Flame users, so she probably shouldn't use them as a comparison point.

Besides, she doesn't have any kind of a Flame conduit, so even if she could activate them then they'd probably be completely useless unless she was lucky enough to be a Mist, which she knew that she wasn't creative enough to actually be.

Nagi, she knew from their many conversations, was sly in a way that she wasn't. Nagi was all underhanded comments and subtlety, twisting other people's words so innocently that Atsuko wasn't even sure that the girl even knew she was doing it.

Atsuko wasn't like that. Atsuko couldn't even create the illusion of life, much less something solid that she could fight with.

If Atsuko had to take a guess, then she's probably a Rain—it made enough sense, she thought. She's pretty good at relaxing atmospheres, right?

Maybe. Who knows.

Atsuko trekked through the wooded area that stood between her and Kokuyo Land. It's a good thing, in retrospect, that Ryohei had always made her go running with him, even if it was just on her bike. Her stamina wasn't too bad.

It didn't make her feel any less relieved when she finally reached the abandoned amusement park, however.

God, this place is creepy. It looked ancient, unkempt as it was. The buildings were falling apart at their seams and dear fuck, someone needed to burn that clown-themed house of mirrors over there down. Immediately.

Taking a deep breath, Atsuko trekked on.

It was odd, being alone here, until she wasn't. Until she could feel hot breath against her neck, clawed digits against her bone-thin arms.

Atsuko turned around and screamed.

The thing, _things_ , were utterly hideous. Their skin was rotting, their eyeballs almost completely black. She couldn't see their pupils. Saliva dripped from one's mouth like a rabid dog and their fingers twitched relentlessly, waiting to be wrapped around her thin, thin neck.

She was surrounded. Surrounded by the fucking _Bloody Twins_.

Oh fuck, she was going to _die_.

The thought shot through her mind, permeating her senses. Instincts finally kicked in and she drew her terribly unbalanced steak knife. In her old life, one of her siblings used to be very interested in weapons. He had once told her that every weapon had its own position, its own form to balance with.

She doesn't remember anything about wielding a large knife. Fuck, fuck.

 _She's going to die, her flesh will be ripped apart by those disgusting claws, no, no, this isn't how it's supposed to end—_

How did boxers keep balance, again? Okay, yeah, she knows that—non-dominant foot in front, other foot behind to give more momentum with strikes, bend her knees just enough to balance her weight…

They were starting to approach her. Atsuko gripped her knife tighter, tried to relax her muscles. She wasn't fast enough to escape hardened killers, but she could hope that Mukuro or someone would intervene, right?

She just, she just needed to buy some time. That's all.

Atsuko raised the knife, it was getting closer and closer and—

"This is hardly the place for herbivores like yourself, Morishiba."

 _Oh, thank fuck_. Hibari made quick work of the Bloody Twins, though Atsuko highly doubted that they were really down for long.

And when they got up?

When they got up, they would go do their superior's bidding. They would go and they would hurt people, try to _tear_ into—

 _No_.

"You shouldn't leave them alive, Hibari," Atsuko noted, her grip on the knife finally relaxing. Right, Hibari _had_ gone to Kokuyo Land after Ryohei's incident… she remembers now.

Hibari raises an eyebrow, his cool gaze betraying a glimmer of surprise. "You think I should kill them?"

Atsuko doesn't understand why he's even asking her that. This is _Hibari_ after all, she doesn't remember him having any kind of boundaries in canon. "Put them out of their misery, more like. Do you _really_ think they're still human, now? They can't even form words anymore. They're just a threat, at this point."

Atsuko remembers now, what the Bloody Twins did in canon. They had been close, _so close,_ to killing Kyoko. Tearing her precious, beautiful little sister to shreds on some madman's whim.

They were too dangerous to be kept alive. Atsuko couldn't count on everything happening exactly the way it did in canon.

Hibari's eyes narrowed, so lovely and cold. "If that is the case, do it yourself, herbivore," he says derisively.

Hibari was chillingly beautiful when he fights. Unlike Ryohei, of whom is needlessly showy in his fighting style, no movement is wasted. It was brutally efficient, yet elegant in a way that anyone who paid attention to martial arts could appreciate.

The perfect killer.

He is fifteen years old now, she recalls. Soon to be sixteen. A high school freshman. Whatever it is that he will become… he is not that now.

Atsuko nods. She steps over to their prone bodies and looks down. It's disgusting, so utterly disgusting. They look like rotten corpses, far past their burial date. They aren't human.

They are _threats_.

Crouching down, unafraid—Hibari is here, after all—Atsuko inhales their rotting stench. Yes, she is doing them a favor, ending this.

Carefully, delicately, Atsuko takes the sharper edge of her blade and runs a line through the throat of the first of the twins. Something inside her squirms, but it is overpowered by the sheer, obsessive need to protect Kyoko.

She can still see it, her slightly glazed eyes, her trembling fingers.

The twin convulsed, choking on its own blood. Its claws kept twitching and Atsuko revels in the fact that it would never graze Kyoko's flawless skin.

The other twitched, but didn't awaken yet. She would have to be quick about this next one.

She could feel the weight of Hibari's gaze on her, heavy and exhilarating. If this were a different situation, then perhaps she would be shivering.

"Perhaps you aren't so herbivorous, after all," she hears Hibari muse. He sounded so...unaffected. And… something else. Something that Atsuko couldn't quite put her finger on. Regardless of his age, Atsuko supposes, Hibari's still pretty fucked up.

They made quite the pair, really.

Atsuko snorts. "No, I still think you're terrifying," she says, brutally honest. He's watching her kill people right now, there isn't much of a point in trying to keep up some kind of facade. "You could snap me right in half. Like one, two, three and there, I'm dead."

"That would be pointless," he says. She raises her knife again. "It would be counterproductive of me to kill a student of Namimori Middle."

 _Unless you prove to be a threat_ , goes unsaid.

"Right," Atsuko agrees, her lips quirking up despite her situation. Fucking Hibari. Her knife grazes the leathery skin of the not-corpse's neck. "I'm still an herbivore."

"In some ways," Hibari notes. "If I had been any later, then you would be dead. You cannot fight yourself, you merely take care of the leftovers." He sounds… fascinated, somehow. Atsuko doesn't know how she feels about that.

Atsuko stands up. The first twin finally went still, the next would soon follow. She returns to Hibari's side, humming thoughtfully. "Does that make me a scavenger, then?"

"I suppose it does," he answers and begins striding forward, towards the main building of the park. He doesn't wait for her, but she doesn't expect him to. She follows him, trying to keep pace, but only managing to stay just a few steps behind him at all times.

Taking her pick of the remains of the battles of carnivores…

Sure, why not?

* * *

Her knife is still painted red when they arrive.

Idly, Atsuko wonders what Ryohei would think about her now. About the monster she became without his guiding light. She doesn't regret it, taking out these threats to Kyoko's safety.

She hadn't even noticed them in canon. How could she have defended herself?

Atsuko feels a bit dirty, having slit their throats. Hibari's uniform shirt was still a perfect, pearly white—she is glad that he would never touch her. She doesn't want to dirty it, after all.

It's hard to clean out bloodstains.

The main room of the building is spacious, Atsuko notes. There's a couch at the center, green and ratty but comfortable-looking. There is a person sitting on it, causing a hitch in Atsuko's breath.

Rokudo Mukuro is unfairly beautiful, in a different way than pretty much every member of the Vongola Tenth Generation that she's met is. He's all angles and long limbs, haunting gaze and shiny, silky looking hair that unfortunately looks far less ridiculous in person than it ever did in the anime.

Mukuro is the kind of beautiful that could kill you and unlike Hibari, he has the smile that just about sings aloud the fact that he would enjoy every second of it too.

"Oya, oya," he drawls. Atsuko stiffens—all of her carefully thought out (if slightly unrealistic, as to be expected for any plan involving this asshole) plans disappearing from her mind. Shit, shit, _she isn't ready for this!_ "While I knew that you would come here eventually, Hibari Kyoya, I can't say I expected you to bring a friend."

Atsuko gripped her knife tightly, futilely. What good would a knife be against someone who uses illusions?

"You're the one behind the recent trouble, then," Hibari states, clicking open his tonfas. Atsuko can practically feel the tension in the air.

"You're not wrong," Mukuro admits, standing up. "This town is an interesting place, wouldn't you agree? There are so many powerful players here, so many dangerous killers. There's even one right next to you, right?"

Atsuko freezes. "I—"

"We aren't here to chit-chat," Hibari cuts in. "Your idiocy has gone on for long enough. Either desist immediately or be bitten to death."

"So impatient," Mukuro laughs. "Won't you let me finish? I think you'd like to hear the end of my little spiel."

How did this fight go again? Atsuko knows that Hibari's going to lose, big time. But how? When? And what would she do once she was the only one left?

"I've tired of hearing your voice already," Hibari informs him dryly. "Unless your 'spiel' ends with your surrender, then I couldn't care less."

Oh, wow. He's sassy. There weren't very many sassy-Hibari depictions out there—someone ought to fix that.

"Ah, while I'm sure you would love that, you aren't so lucky. In fact, I would venture to say that you aren't lucky at all, considering the fact that you've made contact with Trident Shamal, a hitman of whom kills his targets by infecting them with deadly diseases."

Oh. Oh _fuck._

Mukuro smiles, almost innocently. Atsuko forgets how to breathe for a moment.

"Like the one that you've contracted from him now—sakura-kura disease."

Hibari's hand reaches for his neck and Atsuko can see the red welt against his alabaster skin. Shit.

"Now, normally this would be completely harmless—after all, it isn't like sakura blossoms are in season or anything, so you wouldn't be in danger of say...losing your balance in the middle of a fight for your life," Mukuro continues on conversationally. He flicks his hand in an almost-careless motion.

The room turned pink with scattering petals. The scent of sakura blossoms consumed her senses, the touch of the petals against her skin sent shudders down her spine. Intellectually, Atsuko knew that they weren't real. It's impossible to get this many on a short notice in this season. But they felt so real, so flawless that they could even trick Hibari's body into having a reaction.

This is the power of Mist Flames.

Hibari swayed. "It's no matter," he gritted out. "I don't need my full balance to take care of you, pineapple."

"Oh? We'll see about that."

The fight was brutal.

Hibari's entire fighting style relied solely on his balance. While he was still strong, he was no match for Mukuro's far more efficient, faster blows. It only took about ten minutes for Mukuro to take him down.

He'd been playing for five of them.

"Such a silly skylark," Mukuro says, warm words contrasting heavily with the acid underneath. "I've buried so many people just like him—idiots who thought themselves invincible, only to find themselves laying at my feet in just a few minutes time. Don't you think it's sad?"

He was talking to her. Shit.

"I, um, think that it's a pretty dirty trick," Atsuko says, internally stabbing herself with her knife. "If an opponent's too powerful for you to take on directly, then isn't it better to just not do it at all? It's not like defeating Hibari actually benefits you."

"Oh, on the contrary, he isn't too powerful at all," Mukuro says, his smile far sharper than her knife ever could be. "However, if I gave him an honorable fight then he would still be intact—still prideful, still arrogant. It's so much more satisfying to usurp a fool at his lowest."

"Oh, wonderful," Atsuko said, glaring at him. "So you're just an asshole on a power trip. Got it."

"Please, as if you have any grounds to lecture me on, girl," Mukuro said. He strode forward until there were mere inches between them. "After all, aren't you the one who slit my men's throats in their slumber? How are you any better than I am?"

Intentions. That was it, right? Her moral high ground. She wanted to protect Kyoko, had to protect Kyoko. "They were hardly men," Atsuko scoffed. "They were just monsters built on human skeletons."

"Their names were Jiji and Djidji," Mukuro informed her. "Certainly, they weren't very intelligent, but I think it's quite sad that their stint of freedom from prison had to end so abruptly."

"I think it's sad that they were ever born, but that doesn't change anything." She refused to feel guilty. She did it because she _had_ to do it.

He was close. Too close.

"Your hand is trembling over that knife of yours," Mukuro noted, amused. "Do you intend to paint it red with my blood as well? While I'm so close, just within the reach of your blade?"

Atsuko took a breath, feeling her lungs shake with the effort it took to breath again, to take in this awful sakura-infused air. "No, not really," she said.

Bracing herself, Atsuko met Mukuro's heterochromatic eyes. "I just don't want to die again, that's all."

Metal clattered to the floor.

" _What?_ "

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Whelp… I just wanted to introduce main character #3 already, but Atsuko wanted murder so that happened, I guess?**

 **The beginning scene is what would have happened if Kyoko found out about Ryohei's incident before school started, thus arriving at the hospital before he woke up and not having to pretend that she believed his bullshit story.**

 **Hopefully this chapter wasn't too off-putting for people. Please tell me what you thought!**


	14. Chapter 14

(xiv)

God, those eyes. Their faces were so close now, hers and Mukuro's.

They widened in utter shock, then narrowed intensely in but a single second. One, a startlingly pure royal blue, the other an unnatural bloody red, complete with the kanji for two. It shifted to three.

"What _exactly_ ," he hissed, low and threatening, "—does that mean?"

"Well," Atsuko began, eyes darting to Hibari's prone form. There would be no _scavenging_ this time. She is on her own. "Fuck. I—you wouldn't believe me anyways. It's, it's ridiculous—" _shit, shit, shit, what the_ _ **fuck**_ _am I even saying_ "—just, ignore that. Pretend I didn't say anything. Go back to whatever nefarious—"

"No."

Blessedly, Mukuro stepped back, allowing for Atsuko to take a single breath of sickeningly sweet air. His lips quirked up into what anyone would consider a lovely smile, but Atsuko couldn't find it within herself to be anything other than chilled by the sight. "You can't just leave me hanging like that, honestly. It's terribly impolite, wouldn't you say? Now, continue."

Was that some kind of a defense mechanism? It was obvious for a second there that Mukuro was shaken, but then in the blink of an eye he was all smiley and terrifying.

Talk about over dramatic.

Well, it was now or never. How had she been planning on doing this again? Being honest? Sharing information?

Ha. What a joke.

Atsuko is such a joke.

"...have you ever heard of reincarnation?" Atsuko questioned hesitantly, her voice surprisingly steady.

The kanji shifted. One. "A few things, here and there," he said, almost airily. Atsuko had to bite back a snort.

A few things, here and there. Only about six lifetimes worth of experience on the subject, she supposes.

"I died, once," she says and immediately, she has to wonder how the words were coming out so easily, so freely. "I died and then I woke up...like this, I guess. A different person. A different life. I don't know, it's, it's just—"

"Prove it."

Atsuko's heart stops.

Oh, oh fuck. Of course he'd ask for proof. But this is Mukuro we're talking about and even in that ridiculously light-hearted anime, Mukuro was never one to be taken lightly.

Mukuro wouldn't be satisfied by mere words, by tall tales. No, Mukuro wanted more. Mukuro always wanted more.

Mukuro was someone who had no boundaries concerning anyone but himself. He used people as he pleased, invaded minds and bent bodies to his will.

"How?" Atsuko breathed. She… she _needs_ this man as her ally. She knows him. She knows so much about this beautifully broken human being. He is (or will be), Vongola, regardless of what he may say. Tsuna's.

 _Trust_. She needs to give him her trust.

"How can I do that? Words don't mean much," Atsuko said, tentatively. "Lying is… easy enough. The only real way for you to confirm that I'm telling you the truth is to let you look inside my head...and I don't think that's how splitting someone's skull open works."

She didn't know why she tacked on that extra joke at the end. It was inappropriate. It made it seem like she wasn't serious. Shit—

"And if I could do so without killing you? Would you let me?"

Oh… he's testing her? But...what is he testing her _for_? Trustworthiness? Pliability?

Loyalty?

"Yes."

She didn't hesitate. Couldn't hesitate. Her mind, her privacy… didn't matter. Not when she needed him, for Tsuna's sake. For _Ryohei_.

Surprise flickered in Mukuro's gaze. "You're quite eager, aren't you?"

"I know a risk worth taking when I see one," Atsuko retorted. "I'm not stupid enough to think that I can just walk out of the lair of a man who's literally admitted to being a killer unscathed."

"Fair enough," he returned. "This will only take a second."

Belatedly, Atsuko realized that the trident must have somehow found its way into Mukuro's hand again, because there was a slash at her wrist and—

* * *

She looked up at them. Her eyes burned. Why does her chest feel so odd?

It burns and it's cold, cold, _cold_.

Why is it so cold?

"W-where are you guys going?" The words are coming out of her lips and she feels them moving but she isn't the one moving them.

There are people in front of her. She can see their faces but she doesn't _want_ to see their faces. She sees them but she doesn't process them.

She wishes she didn't know them at all.

"Home," one said. "It's getting late."

Was it?

"Oh," she says, dumbly. "Okay."

But they hadn't gone home. She saw them, at the mall, together, without her, laughing and smiling and fuck, fuck, fuck they _didn't want_ her.

 _Look at her, look at her. Trailing behind them._

 _Pathetic. Dumb. Fat. Weeb._

Her eyes are burning and burning. She is burning. Who is burning? Who is burning her?

 _Me. Them. I don't know._

She is so alone.

This wasn't the first time, something tells her. But that's not surprising. She's always been an overshadowed pity case. To friends, to siblings…

What worth has she ever had?

The scene shifts. They are at the beach. She wanted to go to the beach with them, hadn't she?

She's wearing a one-piece, a pretty little number stretched over skin it wasn't made to fit, unseemly curves overflowing from an unnatural cage.

They look so good, the others. So beautiful. She remembers when they were as ugly as she was but now—

Not anymore.

" _Come on! Into the water!_ "

She couldn't swim. She couldn't swim, but she couldn't say that, now could she? That's not cool. It's no fun.

Her legs are heavy. Her feet slip in the cold, wet sand.

She wades into the waves until she can't feel the ground under her feet anymore and she drowns.

There's a hand at her wrist and it won't let go, it's not letting go, _oh god, oh god…_

She's scared. She's so scared. They're letting her drown. There's _laughter_ , all warped and watery.

The hand lets go.

She sinks.

She can't breathe anymore. The water is filling her ears and her throat and, _and_ —

She can't hear the laughter anymore.

* * *

"Oh," Morishiba Atsuko breathes. So that's how _she_ died. That was…

Well then.

In retrospect, it was so, so silly. All she had had to say was that she didn't know how to swim. The other kids probably thought that she was playing some kind of a weird diving game or whatever it was that children did while playing in the water.

And yet…

And yet, she can feel it. The fear. The betrayal. _She_ had needed them, their help, and then...they drowned her?

God, what if it had been a fight? In a world as crazy as this one? What if she wasn't good enough, again, and _they_ were supposed to help her, save her?

It didn't matter if she trusted them, it didn't matter if it wasn't water, she couldn't rely on anyone.

And, and, in that case, isn't it better to just never put herself in a situation where she had to rely on anyone at all?

To be a side character, to be so useless as to never have to fight one single bout?

 _To never learn at all?_

 _"Oh."_

Suddenly, her bone deep hesitation to ever learn how to throw a punch makes sense.

Atsuko shakes her head.

No, no it doesn't. Water and fighting may both flow, but they are not the same thing and there are people that she _can_ rely on now.

But she still felt it, and it scared her. It made no sense, even with context, but then again, when did trauma ever make sense?

"So you weren't lying, Morishiba Atsuko…" Mukuro muses. His hand is at his chin, his expression thoughtful, his eyes...understanding?

"Sometimes," Atsuko says, laughter bubbling in her chest at the sheer incredulity of her mind, "—sometimes, I wish I were."

Atsuko takes a second, breathes. He lets her. "So—" another breath "—what's the final verdict? Do you trust me?"

Mukuro regards her for a moment. "You're quite interesting," he begins. "For the entirety of this life, you've avoided combat because you can't seem to trust others, and yet, here you are, hiding behind Hibari Kyoya and placing your life in his hands."

Mukuro doesn't hold still as he monologues, walking over to Hibari's doll-like body and nudging it with his foot. "Your mind tells you that you are afraid of people failing you and letting you die again, but here this boy is, laying on the ground and not protecting you from the big, bad killer."

Atsuko's jaw dropped. "You looked through this life?!" Fuck, fuck, fuck, that's not good…

"No," Mukuro dismisses. "I merely skimmed for the feelings that were connected to the memories of your other life before going in. That particular detail was practically screaming at me."

Well, he wasn't bringing up anything about Hitman Reborn, so Atsuko could breathe soundly for now. "Ah."

"'Ah', indeed. Your current life is of little interest to me," he informed her dryly, with a raised eyebrow. "As for the answer to your previous question, how am I to trust a girl who can't even stop lying to herself?"

Atsuko's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"That's what I was getting to, before I was so rudely interrupted," he said, moving towards her again. "You try to blame others in your head, let your subconscious tell you that your death had been their fault, but it wasn't, was it?"

 _But it_ _ **was**_ _their fault!_ her mind tried to scream.

"After all, who was it that didn't say _I can't swim_? Who was it that waded in too far? Who was it that didn't ask for help?"

 _No, no, nO, ShUt Up!_

Atsuko looked at him, really, truly looked at him for a moment as her emotions pounded away at her heart.

Blood. Blood and deep, deep _ocean_ blue.

Atsuko wants to throw up.

"It wasn't them, was it? Oh, no. It was _you_."

The words knocked the breath out of her lungs, drowned her in what she realized was her own insincerity. Her escapism. Her stupid, selfish coping mechanism that she hadn't even realized existed.

"So tell me, why should I trust you? Why should I trust that you won't lie to me, that you won't withhold anything from me when you can't even do the same for yourself?"

He...he had a point. Fuck, this was bad. This was really bad. This...this hadn't been what she had imagined for her first time telling someone the truth about her soul.

Fuck.

"And besides that, you don't even have a real reason for wanting my trust so badly now, do you?" Mukuro questions, tilting that unfairly beautiful face just so. "Unless, of course, there's something else that you've been hiding from everyone. Did I not look deep enough, Morishiba Atsuko?"

No, no he hadn't, thank god. But that meant… Atsuko breathes again and composes herself, as best as she can. "There are assassins in my town."

Mukuro raises an eyebrow, again. "And? I took down your protector, ordered your best friend to be beaten for the sake of a goal that you don't even know of. What is your point?"

"My point," Atsuko says, slowly, "—is that things are changing. You're right, you did do those things. You're here and so are _they_."

They both know who _they_ are.

"The fact is, it's becoming dangerous here. Too dangerous for the people I love, stubborn idiots that would never leave this place regardless of how scary it might be to stay," Atsuko tells him, the words coming from deep in her soul, honest and true. "Ryohei is one of the strongest people in Namimori. If your people could take him down… then you must be even stronger than that, than him, to command them."

Atsuko looks him in the eyes and remembers who he is. His goals and why she sought him out in the first place. "It was reckless and it was stupid, but I came here for a reason. I came here to see if our goals could align, if I could convince you to...change your targets from those that I care for."

"You came here to see if you could use me," Mukuro concluded, eyes narrowing. "Tell me, do you still think that to be feasible, after all that's happened?" His hand tightened slightly on his trident, probably in anger.

He was right, in a way, but… "No, I came here to see if I could work _with_ you!" Atsuko snapped, angry suddenly, angry at herself, at him, the situation, everything. "For fuck's sake, I'm basically just a walking corpse. How the hell am I supposed to be able to use anyone when I have barely any power of my own?"

"Work with me?" Mukuro questions, laughing coldly at the notion. "Really? You thought that you could convince someone like me to help you, when you yourself have just admitted that you have nothing to offer me?"

A scavenger, Hibari had called her. Hiding behind those with true power, then eating the remains. Is that what she was? Is that what she had to be?

A scavenger would have run by now. A scavenger would never have stayed in such a dangerous, vulnerable position, baring her heart to this terrible predator.

No, she couldn't be that now.

"I said that I have no power, not that I have nothing to offer you," Atsuko corrected him, and suddenly she is not angry, she is drained, physically and emotionally, that now she could only feel… exasperated. "You've been looking for something, someone, haven't you?"

"...and if I have been?"

"It's kind of obvious, with the way you've just been randomly going through people," Atsuko admits. "The thing is, I have connections. I know things. My family owns one of the biggest businesses in Namimori and honestly, who better to confide in than the girl who's helping make it easier to look at your loved ones dead bodies? The mourning have loose lips and sometimes they say...interesting things. Who pissed off who, who committed what crime… even if they don't tell me personally, people keep forgetting to keep their voices down in the waiting room. And now… I know that's not all I can offer you."

Mukuro was good at maintaining his expressions, but he didn't have much control over what his eyes said. The shifting numerals were especially telling. "You overestimate your own usefulness. I doubt that the whispers you hear in a funeral home are helpful to my task."

"Maybe," she allows. "But there is something else that only I can give you, isn't there? I _understand_."

"You understand _nothing_ ," he snaps and she knows that she struck a nerve. "How _dare_ you suggest that you understand me, that you understand _any_ of the things that I have been through when you do not even know my name?"

"Don't I?" Atsuko wonders. "Why did you make me verify that I had once died? Why was it so important that I let you into my head to make sure? It was such an offhand, impossible comment… unless you knew that I could have been telling the truth. Unless it wasn't just a _few things here and there_ that you knew. You've died before too, haven't you?"

Mukuro doesn't even bother hiding it. "I have. However, you presume too much. I don't need anyone to understand me, I—"

" _Yes_ , you do." Yes he does. Yes, "—I know you do. I know I do. It's so lonely, being the only one who's died. Not having anyone else understand why it doesn't even feel like I'm really alive. And it hurts, it hurts all the time, when I look at the people who love me as they try to help, as they try to understand it but they _can't_. They don't know! And I, we, can't really put it into words, can we?"

At the end of the day, even people as invulnerable seeming as Rokudo Mukuro were human. Had feelings. Needed comfort.

She could see it in Mukuro's eyes, the downwards curve of his sly lips as she spoke. He opened his mouth to retort but she didn't let him interrupt her. This entire time, he's been in control of the situation. Prompting her to give him more, to bare her usefulness to him, to give him any information she might have that pertains to his goal.

He doesn't have control now.

"Maybe you aren't completely alone. I know I'm not. But _no one_ can complete you the way that I can, just as no one will ever be able to complete me the way that _you_ can."

That was it. The core of the matter. She had let him see _her_ , had let him see everything. She let this man, no, this boy in in ways that she hasn't even let _Ryohei_ in.

They had only been talking for half an hour, at most, and yet their relationship was already more intimate than almost any other she has ever had.

"We share only one thing in common," Mukuro says, acid dripping from his honey-smooth voice. "That is it. You are privileged. Innocent. You understand death, yes, but you do not—ah."

Mukuro pauses and his expression changes completely. The vulnerability she coaxed out is gone and his lips curve up. "It seems that my trap has finally been sprung… this conversation will have to wait for later."

A trap…?

Wait, this _is_ the Kokuyo arc… and since Hibari's already knocked out cold and has therefore already been missing for a while then… Tsuna and the gang must have come to investigate at some point. Which means…

"Oh, shit."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I have to say, I absolutely loved reading all of your responses to the last chapter. Thanks everyone! Hopefully, this one hasn't disappointed you guys either. The next one will be at least partially written in Tsuna's POV.**

 **Mukuro has always been my favorite character, but I feel like very few authors ever get present!Mukuro right. Particularly, they tend to confuse him with TYL!Mukuro—a flawless actor of whom, by now, is much better at hiding his insecurities. However, fifteen year old Mukuro, in canon, is a fifteen year old that's angry at the world, who feels like no one understands his pain, with grandiose, nigh suicidal plans and quite frankly? Judging by his first interaction with Tsuna? Can't act for shit, lmao. Honestly, if Tsuna wasn't so trusting, I doubt it would have worked— the whole thing felt very forced when I rewatched it, and obviously put upon. Which was fine when he was like nine, since his malevolence could've been easily written off as him being a traumatized kid, butttt it really doesn't pass now. Hence, the hopefully acccurate way that I have written him.**

 **I'd love to hear what you guys think of my interpretation of him, as well as your own thoughts on Mukuro's character.**

 **Ciao!**


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